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®f it  Sbtngbon  Religious  Ctmcation  (Eexts 

©ah ib  <S.  ©ohntep,  (general  €bi  tor 

NORMAN  E.  RICHARDSON,  Associate  Editor 


/ 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  PRAYER 


KARL  R.  STOLZ 

Professor  of  Religious  Education, 
Wesley  College,  North  Dakota 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
KARL  R.  STOLZ 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF  MY  FATHER 

1859-1919 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Editor’s  Introduction .  9 

Author’s  Preface .  n 

I.  The  Point  of  View .  15 


The  Psychological  Approach.  The  task — Sources  of 
prayer  material — The  essence  of  prayer — Petitional 
and  devotional  prayers — Psychological  phases.  The 
Theological  and  Philosophical  Position.  Explanation 
«  and  description — The  immanence  of  God — Christian 
psychology. 

II.  Suggestion .  28 

The  Essentials  of  Suggestion.  Holding  the  suggested 
idea  in  mental  focus — Faith  included  in  suggestion — 

The  self-realization  of  the  suggested  idea — Effort  and 
relaxation.  Classification  of  Suggestion.  Social  and 
autosuggestion — Positive  and  negative  suggestion — 
Intentional  and  unintentional  suggestion.  The  Influ¬ 
ence  of  Suggestion.  The  threefold  effect  of  suggestion 
— The  province  of  suggestion — Real  and  imaginary 
results.  Points  of  Contact  with  Prayer. 


III.  Attention  in  Prayer .  52 

Accessories  to  Attention.  Privacy  in  Prayer — Social 
praying — Physical  posture — Suspending  the  vision — 
Automatic  movements  —  Emotion  —  Oral  praying  — 
Shifting  of  attention — The  law  of  inertia — Praying 
at  night — The  rosary — The  will.  The  Function  and 
Nature  of  Attention.  The  function  of  attention  in 
prayer — Voluntary  attention.  Summary. 


IV.  Faith  in  Prayer .  75 

Facts  Which  Inspire  Faith.  Religious  environment 
— Devotional  literature — Testimonies  of  others — Mem- 


6 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


CHAPTER  P 

ory — Serviceable  interpretations — Ignoring  negative 
cases — Coincidence — Repetition.  The  Nature  and 
Function  of  Faith.  Faith  as  will — Faith  as  self-surren- 
der — The  independence  of  faith. 

« 

V.  The  Answer  to  Personal  Petitional  Prayer . 

Prayer  for  Regeneration.  A  sense  of  incompleteness 
— Effort  and  result — Self-surrender — Is  conversion 
instantaneous? — Subconscious  parallels — The  points 
of  contrast  between  Christian  conversions  and  others 
— The  divine  element.  Prayer  for  Ethical  Betterment. 
A  case  in  point — Parallel  instances — The  religious 
element.  Prayer  for  the  Cure  of  Disease.  The  prin¬ 
ciples  of  faith  cure — Illustrations  of  various  effects  of 
suggestion — The  scope  of  faith  cure — Prayer  and 
science.  Prayer  for  Divine  Guidance.  Prayer  and 
poise — Prayer  and  unconscious  memory — Guidance  by 
voices  and  visions — Temperament  and  prayer  response. 
Summary. 

VI.  The  Answer  to  the  Cooperative  Prayer . 

The  Answer  to  the  Known  Cooperative  Prayer. 
Known  Prayers  for  Substance  and  Action.  Prayers  for 
material  aid — Prayers  for  the  control  of  action. 
Known  Instructional  and  Hortatory  Prayer.  Pulpit 
prayers — Other  public  prayers — Prayer  in  the  home 
and  inner  circle — Prayers  for  the  dead.  The  Answer 
to  the  Unknown  Cooperative  Prayer.  Mental  Telepathy. 
Hallucinations  and  telepathy — Suggestion  and  telep¬ 
athy — Coincidence  and  chance.  Subconscious  Sensi¬ 
tivity  and  Unrecognized  Petitions.  Experimental  evi¬ 
dence  for  subconscious  registration — Subconscious 
registration  of  prayer.  Direct  Impressions  by  God. 
Summary. 

VII.  Objective  Answers . 

Human  tendencies — Undiscovered  connections — 
God  and  nature — The  higher  ministry  of  prayer. 
Summary. 


. CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.  Ungranted  Petitions . rrrTT. .  161 


Ungranted'  Personal  Petitions.  An  uneasy  con¬ 
science — Theological  struggles — Temperamental  dis¬ 
qualifications — Lack  of  perseverance — Negative  sug¬ 
gestion — Vain  repetitions — Periods  of  spiritual  dry¬ 
ness — Lack  of  rest  periods — Want  of  faith.  Un¬ 
granted  Social  Petitions.  Lack  of  information — Direct 
suggestions. 

r 

*  -  -  '  * 

IX.  Prayers  of  Confession  and  Praise .  178 

Psychoanalysis.  The  Rise  of  Psychoanalysis.  Aristo¬ 
telian  katharsis — Freud’s  theory.  Mental  Conditions 
and  Materials  Involved.  Distracting  memories — 
Childhood  trends — Sex  influence.  The  Method  of 
Psychoanalysis.  Discovering  the  complex — Disposing 
of  the  complex.  Prayer  in  the  Light  of  Psychoanalysis. 

The  prayer  of  confession — The  divided  self — The 
reinstatement  of  the  distraction — Disposition  of  the 
religious  complex — The  consciousness  of  divine'  for¬ 
giveness — The  prayer  of  praise^- Worship  and  adora¬ 
tion — Thanksgiving — Praise  and  psychoanalysis — How 


confession  and  praise  differ.  /- 

X.  Other  Devotional  Prayers  . . . .  202 


Psychosynthesis.  Illustrations  of  the  synthetic 
process — -The  synthetic  activity  in  religion.  Psycho¬ 
synthetic  Prayers.  The  prayer  of  aspiration — Unitary 
effort — Illustrations — The  prayer  of  consecration — 
The  psyChosynthetie  process  in  the  baptism  of  Jesus 
— The  subordination  of  the  physical  to  the  spiritual 
by  Jesus — Jesus  and  self-consistency — The  prayer  of 
submission — The  prayers  of  resignation  as  limitless — 
The**martyr  -spirit — Dramatic  responses — The  prayer 
of  communion — The  social  nature  of  man  and  fellow¬ 
ship  with  God — Ethical  communion  with  God — 
Metaphysical  communion  with  God — Attention — 
The  function  of  communion— The  dignity  of  man 
and  prayer — The  intelligence  of  God  and  fellowship. 
Summary. 


'  A-V' 


8  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


CHAPTER  *  PAGE 

XI.  Prayer  as  Instinctive .  224 


Religion  and  Prayer  as  Instinctive.  The  variable¬ 
ness  of  the  form  of  instinct  and  of  religion — The 
primacy  of  instinct  and  religion — Prayer  elemental — 
Is  there  a  special  religious  instinct?  Science  and 
Prayer.  Difference  in  purpose — Difference  in  approach 
— Religion  as  creative — Religion  as  conservation.  The 
Prayer  Instinct  and  the  New  World.  Misplaced  faith — 


Prayer  as  a  builder  of  a  new  world  order. 

Appendix .  237 

Bibliography . 239 

Index  of  Topics . 243 

Index  of  Names . 246 


EDITOR’S  INTRODUCTION 


There  are  three  outstanding  facts  which,  taken 
together,  make  the  following  study  of  The  Psy¬ 
chology  of  Prayer  a  distinct  contribution  to  the 
literature  on  this  subject.  One  is  psychological; 
one,  philosophical;  and  one,  pedagogical. 

As  a  psy</hologist,  Professor  Stolz  has  seen  the 
far-reaching,  practical  implications  of  suggestion 
and  of  the  more  recent  developments  in  the  fields 
of  psychoanalysis  and  psychosynthesis.  He  is 
intelligently  familiar  with  the  dynamic  theory  of  v*" 
psychology.  Approaching  the  problem  of  prayer 
.  from  this  general  point  of  view,  he  has  been  able 
to  throw  new  light  upon  its  essential  nature  and 
function.  After  reading  this  book  many  persons 
will  use  prayer  intelligently  and  reverently  as  a 
distinct  method  of  mental  and  moral  _  control. 
Prayer  cannot  be  understood  in  its  essential  nature 
by  one  who  makes  the  states  of  consciousness 
coextensive  with  the  horizon  of  psychological  in- 
^  quiry.  /Prayer  is  an  expression  of  the  entire  psychic  ^ 
nature  of  man,  and  as  such  puts  at  the  disposal 
of  the  individual  the  most  dynamic  forces  of  his 
personality. 

As  a  philosopher,  the  author  holds  a  theory  of 
reality  and  of  ultimate  values  which  is  entirely 
compatible  with  an  active,  personal  faith  in  God 
as  revealed  and  interpreted  in  the  Christian  religion. 

This  study,  though  not  concerned  primarily  with 
philosophy,  has  its  setting  in  a  theology  which 

9 


IO 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


closely  resembles  that  of  Borden  Parker  Bowne. 
The  one  who  believes  in  prayer  and  its  almost 
limitless  possibilities  will  find  his  faith  strengthened, 
as  well  as  his  insight  into  the  technique  of  prayer 
clarified,  as  he  catches  glimpses  of  Professor  Stolz’s 
philosophical  position. 

Finally,  this  book  has  been  written  by  a  skilled 
teacher.  The  splendid  organization  of  the  ma¬ 
terial  will  be  a  welcomed  relief  from  the  disorder 
found  in  so  many  texts  on  the  psychology  of  re¬ 
ligion.  “How  does  prayer  differ  from  suggestion?” 
“Is  prayer  efficacious  outside  the  range  of  personal 
and  social  influence?”  “Can  unanswered  petitions 
be  described  as  failures  of  suggestion?”  “Can  the 
response  to  petitional  prayer  be  described  in  terms 
of  subconscious  reaction?”  It  is  when  face  to  face 
with  such  significant  questions  as  these  or  with 
an  unusually  happy  illustration  that  the  reader 
will  appreciate  the  teaching  ability  of  Professor 
Stolz.  Though  dealing  with  materials  which  the 
ordinary  layman  looks  upon  as  subtle  and  illusive, 
the  author  has  been  highly  successful  in  presenting 
his  argument  in  simple,  clear  terms. 

Students  of  psychology,  particularly  of  the  psy¬ 
chology  of  religion,  will  recognize  the  value  of  this 
study  primarily  because  of  its  scientific  nature. 
The  rightful  limitations  of  the  field  and  the  method 
of  science  are  clearly  distinguished.  But  within 
this  scope  the  study  is  rich  in  discovery  and  in 
practical  suggestions.  It  is  a  substantial  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  spiritually  constructive,  the  faith-creating 
work  that  can  be  done  by  one  who  is  both  scientific 
and  devout. 


•  \ 


Norman  E.  Richardson. 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE 


In  writing  this  book  the  author  has  had  in  mind 
the  religious  interests  and  needs  of  intelligent 
people  of  to-day.  The  stress  and  strain  of  our 
modern  life  rather  than  the  circumstances  of  former 
times  have  largely  determined  the  selection  of  the 
material  herein  presented  and  its  treatment.  Every 
oncoming  generation  must  find  itself  religiously  in 
a  perpetually  shifting  social  order.  It  has  been  the 
purpose  of  the  writer  to  assist  in  the  discovery  of 
those  prayer  values  which  will  further  adjustment 
to  the  expanding  universe  of  to-day. 

Prayer  is  religion  alive;  hence  the  salient  phases  v 
of  religion  are  considered  in  a  study  of  prayer. 
He  who  understands  the  principles  of  the  one  has 
a  lively  appreciation  of  the  facts  of  the  other.  This 
book  may  serve  as  an  introduction  to  a  psycholog¬ 
ical  study  of  religion. 

The  Christian  religion  and  prayer  experience 
have  been  given  the  preference  and  preeminence 
throughout  this  study.  Only  incidental  and  illus¬ 
trative  references  have  been  made  to  the  prayer 
habits  and  beliefs  of  other  types  of  religion.  Spec¬ 
ulation  about  the  religious  life  of  primitive  and 
extinct  peoples  has  been  almost  entirely  avoided. 
Within  the  range  of  Christian  doctrine  and  prac¬ 
tice  extreme  varieties,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
have  been  excluded  from  consideration.  The  nor¬ 
mal  life  of  prayer  has  been  regarded  as  most  profit¬ 
able  for  study  and  emulation. 

Petitional  prayer  has  been  given  a  comparatively 

ii 


4 


12 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


large  amount  of  space  for  two  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  according  to  the  statistics  compiled  by 
students  of  the  psychology  of  religion,  of  the  several 
forms  of  prayer,  the  petitional  is  still  the  one  most 
frequently  made.  It  has  a  practical  value  which 
we  do  well  to  conserve.  In  the  second  place,  the 
religious  strains  and  tensions  created  by  modern 
science  are  particularly  severe  and  critical  in  the 
field  of  petitional  prayer.  A  special  effort  has  been 
made  in  this  book  to  confirm  or  reestablish  con¬ 
fidence  in  this  form  of  prayer. 

Prayer  has  been  approached  herein  from  the 
angle  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immanence  of  God. 
The  author’s  contention  is  that  God  is  not  an  im¬ 
personal  force  like  the  ether,  if  there  be  such;  or 
the  personification  and  deification  of  the  complex 
of  social  values  which  are  the  resultant  of  race 
experience;  but,  rather,  the  personal  spirit,  un¬ 
created  and  eternal,  from  which  the  world  of  man 
and  nature  is  derived,  the  self-conscious  and  self- 
governing  ultimate  court  of  appeal.  It  is  not  easy 
for  a  mind  untrained  in  scientific  method  or  unfa¬ 
miliar  with  the  fundamentals  of  a  theistic  philos¬ 
ophy  to  correlate  and  assimilate  the  results  of  a 
psychological  study  of  religion;  hence  the  findings 
of  the  present  investigation  have  been  constantly 
related  to  a  spiritual  conception  of  the  universe. 

The  difficulties  which  have  been  encountered  in 
the  study  of  prayer  have  been  both  numerous  and 
serious.  The  prayer  relation  is  rich  and  varied 
_  in  its  structure  and  effects.  Its  psychological  ele¬ 
ments  are  subtle  and  elusive.  Furthermore,  it  is 
hard  to  treat  dispassionately  and  impartially  such 
a  personal  and  central  experience. 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE 


13 


In  order  to  make  this  contribution  accessible  to 
laymen  as  well  as  to  professional  readers,  the  ma¬ 
terial  has  been  cast  into  the  thought-forms  of  the 
modern  man  of  intelligence.  In  many  instances 
the  use  of  technical  terms  has  been  avoided,  and 
those  employed  have  been  expounded  by  definition, 
illustration,  and  context.  In  order  to  simplify  the 
thinking  of  the  student,  to  supply  supporting  evi¬ 
dence,  and  to  assist  the  memory,  concrete  cases 
have  been  cited  in  quite  liberal  quantity  and  variety. 

The  writer’s  appreciation  of  and  indebtedness  to 
the  work  of  other  students  of  religion  have  been 
indicated  in  the  many  references  scattered  through¬ 
out  this  book,  and  in  the  appended  selected  bibli¬ 
ography.  It  is  hoped  that  the  numerous  direct 
and  indirect  quotations  from  the  writings  of  others 
will  induce  the  student  to  read  the  wider  literature 
produced  by  the  science  of  the  psychology  of  religion. 

Karl  R.  Stolz. 


Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota. 


'V 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW  _ 

Prayer  is  a  source  of  inspiration  in  the  lives  of 
many  whose  character  and  intelligence  compel 
respect.  It  occupies  a  unique  place  in  man’s  quest 
for  the  higher  values.  In  the  midst  of  the  various 
interests  which  men  cultivate,  such  as  art  and 
science  and  politics  and  industry  and  trade,  religion, 
the  heart  of  which  is  prayer,  is  still  fundamental 
and  dominant.  Many  devout  people  temporarily 
^withdraw  Irom  the  presence  of  their  fellow  men, 
fall  upon  their  knees,  fold  the  hands,  close  the 
eyes,  bow  the  head,  pour  forth  their  deepest  yearn¬ 
ings  and  hopes,  and  arise  clothed  with  peace  and 
power. 

It  is  not  strange  that  many  protest  against  a 
critical  examination  of  prayer.  They  instinctively 
shrink  from  submitting  this  sacred  and  intimate 
experience  to  a  rigorous  analysis,  lest  unholy  hands 
commit  a  sacrilege  and  religion  itself  be  discredited. 
The  fear  that  an  investigator  is  an  iconoclast  has 
not  always  been  groundless.  An  unsympathetic 
or  irreverent  approach  to  prayer  results  in  negative 
findings,  and  even  destructive  activity.  Since  it 
is  the  nature  of  religion  to  disclose  and  conserve 
the  eternal  verities  which  formal  logic  cannot 
demonstrate  and  which  the  laboratory  of  the  scien¬ 
tist  cannot  reveal  and  test,  it  is  only  normal  that 
religion  be  on  the  defensive  when  threatened  by  a 
cold  and  irreverent  intellectualism. 

15 


i6 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Many  are  content  with  their  practical  expe¬ 
rience  and  feel  no  need  of  a  critical  examination, 
but  there  are  others  who  have  a  sincere  desire  to 
understand  the  nature  and  place  of  prayer.  In¬ 
quiring  minds  that  demand  a  reasonable  basis  for 
the  prayer  life  have  rights  that  others  should  respect. 
They  assume  that  no  fact  is  too  personal  or  holy 
to  be  tested  to  the  utmost.  The^  consider  the 
scientific  method  a  means  to  a  higher  end,  a  crucible 
in  which  the  dross  is  separated  from  the  gold.  They 
hold  that  a  psychological  study  of  prayer  should 
be  more  than  a  formal  exercise  or  the  gratification 
of  mere  curiosity;  they  insist  that  analysis  and 
description  should  disclose  the  merits  of  prayer  and 
lead  to  a  better  control  of  its  principles.  This 
attitude  is  manifestly  constructive  and  positive. 
All  investigations  of  the  prayer  relation  should  be 
attempted  in  this  spirit. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  APPROACH 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  study  of  the  psy¬ 
chology  of  prayer?  Where  can  enough  material 
be  found  to  make  the  study  scientific  and  reliable? 
Are  all  prayers  of  the  same  general  nature,  or  are 
there  various  types?  What  are  the  various  types 
of  prayer?  What  are  the  general  psychological 
characteristics  of  each  of  the  several  varieties  of 
prayer?  A  comprehensive  answer  to  these  pre¬ 
liminary  questions  will  indicate  the  lines  which 
the  psychological  study  of  prayer  follows. 

The  task. — Although  the  facts  of  prayer  may  be 
approached  from  various  angles,  the  present  task 
is  to  ascertain  how  and  to  what  extent  they  may 
be  expressed  in  terms  of  psychology.  The  task  is 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


1 7 

to  disengage  what  for  the  sake  of  convenience  may 
be  called  the  human  elements  from  the  total  prayer 
experience,  to  describe  them,  and  to  compare  them 
with  like  known  mental  factors.  We  shall  con¬ 
stantly  be  mindful  that  the  psychological  phases 
analyzed  out  do  not  constitute  the  whole  prayer 
experience.  The  botanist  knows  that  when  he 
has  dissected  a  rose  he  no  longer  has  a  rose,  for 
a  rose  is  an  organism^r  union  of  parts  sustained 
by  plant  'vitality.  Prayer,  likewise,  is  more  than 
the  constituent  elements  to  which  it  may  be  re¬ 
duced;  it  is  a  unified  process  prompted  and  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  religious  nature  of  man.  It  is  well 
to  keep  this  fact  before  us  as  we  proceed  with  the 
discovery  and  discussion  of  the  psychological  traits 
of  prayer.  ^ ,  v  - 

Sources  of  prayer  material. — A  prerequisite  of  this 
undertaking  is  an  abundance  of  prayer  data.  For¬ 
tunately,  it  is  not  hard  to  collect  a  wealth  of  material. 
The  stores  of  religious  biography  and  devotional 
treatises  are  available.  Psychological  expositions  of 
religion  and  particularly  of  prayer  contain  many 
serviceable  references.  About  two  hundred  auto¬ 
biographical  confessions  of  the  prayer  life,  received 
in  response  to  four  questionnaires,  contribute  to 
✓  this  study.1  The  majority  of  the  respondents  are 
members  of  such  leading  Protestant  denominations 
as  the  Methodist,  the  Baptist,  the  Presbyterian, 
and  the  Congregational.  Both  male  and  female, 
the  laity  as  well  as  the  clergy,  are  represented. 

The  faults  of  the  questionnaire  method  of  gather¬ 
ing  data  are  well  known  and  need  not  now  be  re- 

1  Three  questionnaires  were  circulated  by  students  of  Professor  J.  B.  Pratt, 
who  generously  placed  the  responses  at  the  service  of  the  present  writer.  The 
questionnaire  sent  out  by  the  author  appears  in  the  Appendix. 


i8 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


hearsed.  Nevertheless,  its  severest  critics  have  not 
suggested  a  more  excellent  way  of  collecting  tna- 
terial  of  a  personal  and  intimate  nature.  The  psy¬ 
chology  of  religion  must  take  such  facts  into 
consideration.  Religion  is  a  personal  as  well  as  a 
social  experteneer'and  the  individual  himself  has  a 
right  to  testify  to  what  he  feels  and  knows  and 
does.  The  intelligent,  use  of  the  questionnaire 
takes  it  for  granted  that  the  oral  or  written  testi¬ 
mony  may  be  confirmed  oY  modified  or  discredited 
by  further  personal  interview  or  correspondence. 
The  historian,  for  example,  who  relies  upon  ancient 
relics  and  documents  for  information  does  not  possess 
this  advantage.  His  method  has  all  of  the  defects 
without  the  redeeming  features  of  the  question¬ 
naire.  To  be  sure,  a  conscientious  effort  must  be 
made  to  discriminate  between  trustworthy  and 
unreliable  answers  to  the  list  of  questions.  To 
reject  all  personal  confessions  of  religious  experience 
because  many  of  them  are  inaccurate  is,  as  the 
Germans  say,  to  pour  out  the  child  with  the  bath¬ 
water.  The  accounts  from  which  deductions  have 
been  made  in  this  study  have  been  selected  from 
the  responses  of  those  in  whom  there  is  reason  to 
repose  confidence.  No  far-reaching  conclusion  based 
upon  this  material  has  been  accepted  and  urged 
unless  convincingly  supported  by  broader  factors. 
Many  accounts  serve  to  illumine  and  confirm  in¬ 
ferences  drawn  from  wider  considerations. 

The  essence  of  prayer. — Prayer  may  be  simply 
and  comprehensively  defined  as  man’s  intercourse 
with  God.  All  true  prayer,  spoken  or  unexpressed, 
is  included  in  such  a  general  description,  and  at 
the  same  time  all  meaningless  and  merely  formal 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


19 


participation  in  exercises  and  rituals,  incorrectly 
termed  prayer^  is  excluded.  That  which  does  not 
function\religiously  is  not  prayer.  “He  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  he  is.”2  Though  they  be 
accompanied  by  all  the  outward  forms  of  prayer, 
words  without  faith  are  dead.  Though  they  be 
devoid  of  the  external  accompaniments  usually 
associated  with  prayer,  thoughts  and  feelings  di- 

1  1 

rected  to  God  as  the  One  unto  whom  all  flesh  corties 
are  prayer.  Kneeling,  bowing,  closing  the  eyes, 
folding  the  hands,  formulating  sentenres  do  not 
constitute  the  heart  of  prayer,  significant  as  they 


are.  To  these  must  be  added  the  inner  attitude 


of  humility  and  expectancy,  the  movement  of  the 
soul  toward  its  God. 

Petitional  and  devotional  prayers. — An  examina¬ 
tion  of  a  mass  of  representative  prayers  reveals 
two  large  classes — the  petitional  and  the  devotional. 
The  basis  of  the  classification  is  the  psychological 
structure  as  well  as  the  purpose  or  function  of  the 
prayers.  The  difference  in  mental  traits  between 
the  two  .classes  will  be  discussed  later.  Petitional 
prayer  is  primarily  an  entreaty,  a  request,  a  solicita¬ 
tion  addressed  to  God  for  definite  favors,  rights, 
or  concessions.  It  is  a  means  to  an  end.  It  is 
instrumental.  It  is  an  appeal  to  God  for  such  values 
as  regeneration,  mojral  cleansing,  divine  guidance, 
restoration  of  health.  The  devotional  prayers,  as 
a  whole,  move  within  the  sphere  of  appreciation. 
There  is  a  tendenc  J  in  religious  devotion 


devotional  attitudes 


for  its  own  sake. 


culminate  in  themselves.  They  are  motivated  not 
so  much  by  a  desire  to  use  God  as  by  a  disposition 

2  Hebrews  11.  6.  ^ 


/ 


20 


ti4e  psychology  of  prayer 


to  be  used  by  God.  Adoration,  worship,  thanks¬ 
giving,  confession,  consecration,  communion,  and. 
aspiration  are  specific  forms  of  this  common  type 
of  prayer. 

The  -  petitional  prayer  reaches  out  after  some¬ 
thing  special,  the  function  of  the  devotional  is  more 
indefinite  and  general.  Of  course  such  a  classifi¬ 
cation  is  not  absolute;  There  is  overlapping;  the 
line  of  demarkation  between  thertwo  classes  wavers 
here  and  there.  Furthermore,  one  should  bear  in 
;  mind  that  the  religious  interest  usually  combines 
and  fuses  the  petitional  and  devotional  elements 
in  a  single  prayer. 

Psychological  phases.— It  is  evident  that  prayer 
as  a  human  process  involves  mental  elemehts. 
Without  such  psychological  ttaits  as  thought  and 
-feeling,  memory  and  imagination,  will  a^id  | habit, 
the  life  of  prayer  would  be  impossible.  The  mind 
expresses  itself  in  these  and  other  ways  in  the  prayer 
relation  as  in  other  humane  experiences.  For  in¬ 
stance;,  according  to  -what  has  been  attained  in 
prayer  in  thej  past,  memory  stimulates  or  represses 
the  prayer  impulse- ,_Again,  one  cannot  pray  for 
what  one  cannot  imagine.  In  imagination  there 
N  is  pictured  to  oneself  that  which  is  desired  as  a 
possession  or  as, an  experience.  The  scop6  of  prayer 
is  limited  only  by~  the  creative  imagination.  Even 
God  is  mentally  pictured.  Although  we  realize  that 
God  is  a  spirit  and  that  it  is-  impossible  for  us  to 
conceive  of  a  purely  spiritual  being,  we  form  a 
mental  image  of  him  when  we  pray  to  him.  (  Since 
j  prayer  exhibits  known  mental  principles^  a  psy¬ 
chological  study  of  it  is  possible.^ 

Bringing  the  wider  facts  and  more  comprehensive 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


21 


principles  of  psychology  to  bear  upon  an  abundance 
of  typical  prayer  material,!  we  discover,  in  petitional 
prayers,  the  presence  and  influence  of  a  psycho¬ 
logical  complexity  called  “suggestion.!!  From  the 
standpoint  of  structure,  devotional  prayers  may  be 
subdivided  into  two  groups.  ^.The  chief  psycholog¬ 
ical  characteristic  of  one  group  seems  to  be  a  re¬ 
lease,  an  escape  or  eradication  of  certain  disturb¬ 
ing  mental  states.  A  process  known  as  psycho¬ 
analysis  will  throw  grateful  light  upon  this  form  of 
devotion,  ^-The  other  group  is  marked  by  the  assim¬ 
ilation  of  a  situation  or  an  idea  which  reorganizes 
the  personality.  The  essential  feature  is  the 
adoption  of  a  new  center  of  insight  and  power. 
The  mental  aspects  of  this  group  may  be  described 
in  terms  of  synthetic  activity. 

The  following  chapters  develop  this  outline  of 
the  psychological  phases  of  prayer. 


THE  THEOLOGICAL  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  POSITION 

To  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  limited 
field  of  psychology,  a  statement  of  the  psychological 
facts  of  religious  experience  may  prove  to  be  dis¬ 
quieting.  After  having  made  a  rigorous  and  honest 
analysis  and  comparison  of  all  psychological  aspects 
of  prayer,  a  perplexed  religious  mind  may  raise 
such '  momentous  and  pressing  questions  as  the 
following:  Is  the  universe  mechanical?  Is  there 
an  element  of  free  will  in  the  psychological  processes? 
Should  not  the  prayer  life  be  abandoned?  What 
is  the  nature  and  character  of  the  God  consistent 
with  such  findings?  Is  there  not  some  way  of 
proving  his  objective  reality? 

These  are  questions  which  psychology  as  such 


22 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


does  not  and  cannot  answer.  They  fall  within  the 
sphere  of  theology  and  philosophy.  The  psychology 
of  religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  such  problems  as 
the  moral  responsibility  of  man  and  the  transcend¬ 
ent  existence  and  attributes  of  God.  But  in  order 
to  forestall  any  possible  misunderstanding  and  con¬ 
fusion  it  is  advisable  to  set  forth  in  a  few  words  the 
theological  and  philosophical  position  adopted  and 
maintained  in  th£se  pages. 

Explanation  and  description. — At  the  outset  it 
should  be  state'd  that  much  confusion  is  avoided 
when  the  description  of  a  mental  aspect  is  clearly 
distinguished  from  the  final  explanation  of  it.  The 
mere  description  of  any  event  is  by  no  means  identi¬ 
cal  with  its  explanation.  The  former  is  only  a  por¬ 
trayal  and  delineation  of  a  manifestation  of  some¬ 
thing  which  is  more  basal.  Explanation  is  concerned 
with  the  nature  and  constitution  of  that  which 
cannot  be  reduced  to  a  more  elemental  value.  It 
involves  ultimate  considerations.  Description  is ' 
confined  to  the  forms  and  processes  in  which  the  v 
irreducible  reality  ^expresses  and  expands  itself. 
Science  describes  the  outward  manifestation  of  that 
which  theology  and  philosophy  attempt  to  explain. 
Science  as  such  does  not  occupy  itself  with  the 
origin,  destiny,  and  final  value  of  the  world.  The 
last  word  belongs  to  faith,  not  to  science.  Science 
is  limited  in  its  scope,  faith  penetrates  to  the  heart 
of  the  world  of  nature  and  man. 

Men  may  agree  in  their  description  of  a  thing, 
but  differ  radically  in  their  explanation  of  it.  A 
number  of  geologists  may  agree  in  their  portrayal 
of  the  earth,  but  diverge  widely  in  their  conception 
of  its  origin  and  purpose.  The  geologist  with  an 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


23 


agnostic  view  of  the  world  will  deny  the  possibility 
of  knowing  anything  about  the  origin  and  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  earth.  The  atheistic  scientist  will  flatly 
reject  God  as  the  explanation  of  the  existence  of 
material  things.  The  scientist  who  holds  a  theistic 
point  of  view  will  reduce  the  earth  to  a  dynamic 
principle,  to  a  supreme  creative  Mind,  to  God. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  may  be  in  agreement 
as  to  their  explanation  of  the  globe,  but  disagree 
as  to  its  structure  and  history. 

In  like  manner  the  mere  description  of  religious 
processes  leaves  the v  explanation  untouched :  the 
tracing  of  the  psychological  elements  of  prayer  is 
*  one  thing,  the  final  estimation  of  prayer  quite 
another.  This  distinction  will  prove  to  be  perti¬ 
nent  and  serviceable. 

The  immanence  of  God. — The  scientific  discus¬ 
sion  of  prayer  in  no  way  militates  against  the 
doctrine  of  an  intelligent  and  benevolent  God,  a 
vein  of  self-direction  in  man  which  makes  him 
morally  accountable,  and  the  superlative  value  of 
,  the  religious  impulse.-  Without  hesitation  or  reser¬ 
vation  the  writer  accepts  the  conception  of  -  God  as 
Father  with  all  which  that  symbol  implies  of  self- 
\  consciousness,  creativeness,  and  love. 

Nor  is  such  ground  sinking'  sand.  While  it  is  \ 
true  that  psychology  cannot  by  searching  find  out 
God ,  while  the  affirmation  of.  the  existence  of  the  j 
,  God  of  Christianity  is  not  a  scientific  finding  but  the 
outcome  of  religious  faith,  an  unbiased  study  of 
the  facts  of  prayer  moves  in  the  direction  of  a 
God  who  unfolds  and  realizes  his  purposes  in  the 
response  of  humanity  to  his  promptings.  The 
reduction  of  certain  prayer  processes  to  discover-  < 

-  '  .  •  ^ 


24 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


able  psychological  principles,  far  from  rendering 
the  existence  of 1  God  unnecessary  and  therefore 
highly  improbable,  lays  bare  his  accustomed  modes 
of  self-activity  which  we  call  laws.  It  is  superficial 
to  exclude  the  reality  of  God  from  all  consideration 
when  once  his  method  of  self-fulfillment  or  of 
self-expression  has  been  described. 

The  idea  that  God  lives  apart  from  the  world 
of  man  and  nature,  self-contained  and  self-sufficient, 
the  only  proof  of  whose  existence  and  potency  is 
an  interference  with  the  ongoings  of  the  natural 
order,  is  both  unchristian  and  untenable.  The 
doctrine  of  the  immanence  of  God,  according  to 
which  God  is  the  animating  and  controlling  Spirit 
of  the  world,  the  Sustainer  as  well  as  the  Creator 
of  all  things,  is  the  more  logical  conclusion  from 
science  and  the  positive  teachings  of  Jesus.  A  free 
Spirit,  a  personality,  God  is  immanent  in  the  uni¬ 
verse,  nowhere  absent  and  never  disconnected  from 
its  life.  Not  that  he  is  limited  by  the  natural  world. 
Like  the  spirit  of  man  directing  and  even  tran¬ 
scending  the  human  body,  God  makes  the  world 
which  he  creates  and  inhabits  the  servant'  of  his 
will. 

Subjecting  the  mental  traits  of  prayer  to  a  deeper 
penetration,  we  hold  that  the  uniform  processes 
we  call  psychological  laws  and  principles  are  the 
habitual  manifestations  of  the  creative  energy  of 
God.  Natural  law  is  not  independent  and  self- 
existing;  it  is  not  in  itself  an  entity.  The  world 
is  not  governed  by  law,  but  by  God  through  law. 
The  self-activity  of  God  is*  not  irregular  and  con¬ 
fused  but  uniform  and  orderly.  Prayer  is  not  only 
in  a  universe  of  law  but  also  of  it.  To  assign  prayer 


✓  « 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


25 


a  well-merited  place  in  God’s  reign  of  law  is  to 
rescue  it  from  the  chaotic  and  capricious,  from  the 
weird  and  bizarre,  from  portents  and  prodigies, 
from  the  magical  and  superstitious. 

This  idea  of  God  removes  the  artificial  barrier 
which  has  been  erected  between  the  sacred  and 
the  so-called  secular.  The  arbitrary  classification  of 
all  things  under  these  two  heads  has  been  most 
unfortunate  and  productive  of  much  mischief. 
When  life  is  divided  into  secular  and  sacred  com¬ 
partments  a  tendency  arises  to  reject  the  sacred 
and  to  regard  all  as  secular.  God’s  creation  cannot 
be  partly  sacred  and  partly  secular.  We  must 
hold  fast  the  principle  that  one  and  the  same  God 
operates  through  the  law  of  gravitation  and  the 
answer  to  prayer.  When  once  the  significance  of 
the  immanence  of  God  is  grasped  in  its  various 
bearings  and  relations  everything  that  ministers  to 
the  needs  of  man  and  makes  for  moral  and  religious 
progress  is  sacred. 

Not  that  there  may  not  be  various  degrees  of 
the  immanence  of  God.  There  is  a  higher  form  of 
the  immanence  of  God  in  the  animate  than  in  the 
inanimate  world;  in  man,  than  in  animals.  A  tree 
is  higher  in  the  scale  of  the  divine  immanence  than 
a  rock,  a  sheep  than  a  tree,  and  a  man  is  worth, 
more  than  a  sheep./ God  doubtless  comes  to  unique 
self -expansion  in  the  prayer  that  springs  from  the 
depths  of  the  religious  soul ,  and  reflects  his  will  and 
purpose.  God  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
forever  in  his  benevolent  intention,  but  his  possi¬ 
bilities,  opportunities,  and  resources  are  multiplied 
when  man  yields  to  the  inner  and  divine  prompt¬ 
ings.  When  men  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 


26 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

ness  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  expression  of  God’s 
moral  attributes x  in  human  conduct.  In  a  vital 
sense  we  not  only  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being  in  him,  but  he,  in  turn,  would  live  and  move 
and  have  his  being  in  us. 

Christian  psychology. — There  is  a  discernible 
movement  among  some  students  of  pronounced 
Christian  convictions,  to  disengage  the  psycholog¬ 
ical  interpretations  of  religion  from  atheistic  atti¬ 
tudes  or  vague  and  impersonal  notions  of  God. 
To  such  attempts  the  term  “Christian  psychology” 
is  frequently  applied.  '  Such  a  movement  is  unfor¬ 
tunate  and  unnecessary.  Psychology  as  the 
observation  and  comparison  of  evidences  and  ex¬ 
pressions  of  the  mind  is  wholly  independent  of 
any  religious  outlook.  The  principles  of  psychology 
are,  or  should  be,  the  same  for  all.  For  analogous 
reasons  one  would  hesitate  to  formulate  a  Chris¬ 
tian  botany.  Religious  affiliations  condition  the 
ultimate  interpretation  of  mental  states,  but  they 
should  not  affect  the  study  of  human  nature  as  such. 

Nevertheless,  the  point  of  the  scholars  who 
desire  to  relate  and  combine  sound  psychology 
with  wholesome  religious  belief  should  not  be  flouted. 
y  The  tendency  in  certain  quarters  to  reduce  re¬ 
ligious  experience  to  nothing  more  -  than  human 
behavior,  or  mechanical  processes,  or  sociological 
activities,  or  a  contentless  abstraction,  or  an  im¬ 
personal  force,  should  be  strenuously  opposed. 
Those  who  would  base  the  mental  sequences  of  the 
Christian  life  upon  the  nature  and  work  of  God 
as  revealed  in  the  teaching  and  person  of  Jesus 
are  quite  within  their  rights.  They  are  justified 
in  interpreting  the  type  of  life  motivated  and 


J 


THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 


27 


directed  by  the  enthusiasms  of  Jesus  as  , something 
more  personal  and  enduring  than  a  by-product  of 
the  nervous  system,  self-operating  natural  laws,  or 
a  passionless  energy.  So  long  as  the  series  of  psy¬ 
chological  phases  is  correctly  described  and  properly 
related  to  the  larger  system  of  law  of  which  it  is  a 
part,  it  is  neither  scientific  dogmatism  nor  religious 
bigotry  to  explain  Christian  experience  in  terms 
of  moral  responsibility  and  an  immanent  God. 


\ 


V 


CHAPTER  II 


SUGGESTION 

/  -  - 

>  -  ■*  \ 

Since  the  element  of  suggestion  in  petitional 
prayer  is  to  receive  special  attention,  it  is  obvious 
that  a  detailed  study  of  it  is  indispensable.  A 
clear  understanding  of  the  structure  and  function 
of  suggestion  in  general  makes  possible  a  worth¬ 
while  study  of  the  mental  traits  of  petitional  prayer. 

V 

THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  SUGGESTION 

V 

A  suggestion  may  be  defined  as  a  mental  pressure 
which  tends  to  express  itself  without  conscious 
effort  or  control.  The  essentials  of  suggestion  are: 

(1)  the  introduction  of  an  idea  into  the  mind, 

(2)  faith  in  the  realization  of  the  idea,  (3)  the 
automatic  realization  of  the  idea,  (4)  relaxation. 
No  suggestion  can  be  effective  if  any  one  of  these 
factors  is  wanting.  Each  makes  its  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  process  as  a  whole,  but  is  at  the  same 
time  so  intimately  related  to  the  others  that  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  where  the  activity  of  the 
one  ends  and  that  of  the  others'  begins.  The  unity 
of  this  process  should  be  borne  in  mind  during  the 
following  brief  description  of  its  salient  aspects.1 

1  The  following  definitions  are  more  or  less  serviceable: 

“I  have  myself  defined  suggestion  as  ‘from  the  side  of  consciousness  .  .  .  the 
tendency  of  a  sensory  or  an  ideal  state  to  be  followed  by  a  motor  state.’  ” — Bald¬ 
win,  J.  M.:  Mental  Development  in  the  Child,  and  the  Race,  p.  105.  The  Mac¬ 
millan  Company. 

“A  suggestion  is,  we  might  say  at  first,  an  idea  which  has  a  power  in  our  mind 
to  suppress  the  opposite  idea.” — Munsterberg,  Hugo:  Psychotherapy,  p.  86. 
Moffat,  Yard  &  Co. 

‘‘By  suggestion  is  meant  the  intrusion  into  the  mind  of  an  idea;  met  with  more 

28 


SUGGESTION 


29 


Holding  the  suggested  idea  in  mental  focus. — 

The  lodging  of^n  idea  in  The  mind  is  the  basal 
factor  in  suggestion.  This  process  may  be  described 
in  terms  of  attention;  the  idea  to  be  realized  is  a-) 
mental  impression;  it  is  forced v  upon  the  mind. 
When  an  idea  is  held  in  mental  focus  critical  and> 

v  ,  /  -  1  r* 

opposing  tendencies  are  withdrawn.  When  reason 
and  judgment  are  held  im, abeyance  the  idea  glides 
into  the  mind  without  encountering  the  resistance 
which  a  more  critical  state  offers.  The  emotional 
and  nervously  unstable  persons  are  highly  suggesti¬ 
ble;  that  is,  their  mental  constitution  is  favorable 
to  suggestion. 

Of- all  persons  little  children  are  the  most  sug¬ 
gestible.  They  lack  control  over  their  mental 
impressions,  they  have  no  fund  of  established  ideas 
to  serve  as  a  basis  for  distinguishing  fact  from 
fancy.  Their  critical  powers  are  dormant.  Hence 
suggestions  remain  uncontradicted  and  tend  to 
realize  themselves  subconsciously.  A  small  boy 
was  one  day  commanded  to  perform  an  odious 

task.  It  occurred  to  him  that  if  he  were  ill  he 

\ 

would  be  excused,  and  at  once  the  wish  was  enter¬ 
tained  that  he  might  plead  some  form  of  ailment, 
say  a  pain  in  one  of  the  limbs.  The  wish  was  the 
father  of  the  sensation,  for  almost  at  once  a  dull 
pain  was  experienced  in  the  calf  of  the  leg.  It  was 
duly  reported,  and  he  was  excused. 

or  less  opposition  by  the  person;  accepted  uncritically  at  last;  and  realized  unre- 
flectively,  almost  automatically.” — Sidis,  Boris:  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  15. 

D.  Appleton  &  Company. 

‘‘Suggestion  is  only  another  name  for  the  power  of  ideas,  so  far  as  they  prove 
efficacious  over  belief  and  conduct — James,  William:  The  Varieties  of  Religious 
Experience,  p.  112.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 

“Suggestion  is  a  process  of  communication  resulting  in  the  acceptance  with 
conviction  of  the  communicated  proposition  in  the  absence  of  logically  adequate 
grounds  for  its  acceptance.” — McDougall,  W.:  Social  Psychology,  p.  97.  John 
W.  Luce  &  Co. 


30 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


An  elocutionist  was  reading  poems  of  child  life 
at  the  request  of  her  niece,  a  child  three  years  old. 
In  the  course  of  the  impromptu  entertainment  the 
reader  ran  her  fingers  through  the  locks  of  the 
eager  little  listener,  repeating  at  the  same  time 
these  words,  “The  wood-ticks  are  crawling  through 
your  hair.”  So  effective  was  this  unintentional 
suggestion  that  the  child  at  once  insisted  that 
wood-ticks  were  in  her  hair,  and  so  realistic  was 
her  sensation  that  only  after  her  scalp  had  been 
thoroughly  washed  did  she  regain  her  composure. 

Such  examples  taken  from  chifdhood  show  us 
what  occurs  in  adult  life  in  a  modified  form.  The 
efficacy  of  a  suggestion,  then,  depends,  in  the  first 
place,  upon  the  impression  made  upon  the  mind. 
The  idea  must  be  planted  in  the  mental  soil  before 
it  can  grow  and  bear  its  fruit.  Self-control,  self- 
analysis,  reason,  and  judgment  tend  to  combat 
the  suggested  idea;  uncritical  attitudes,  emotion, 
imagination,  and  a  restriction  of  the  field  of  con¬ 
sciousness  increase  the  state  of  suggestibility.  The 
degree  of  opposition  met  by  a  suggested  idea  is  in 
inverse  proportion  to  the  suggestibility  of  the  mind 
for  that  suggestion. 

Faith  included  in  suggestion. — Suggestion  is  more 
than  attention,  it  embraces  a  faith  state.  Belief 
I  that  the  idea  held  in  mind  is  about  to  express  itself 
or  has  already  been  realized  is  absolutely  essential 
to  the  success  of  suggestion.  At  first  the  suggested 
idea  may  meet  with  more  or  less  opposition,  but 
eventually  it  must  be  uncritically  accepted  by  the 
person.  The  degree  of  faith  exercised  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  state  of  suggestibility,  i or  mot  all 
,  suggestions  are  equally  powerful  or  arresting.  Like 


SUGGESTION 


3i 


a  check  presented  for  payment,  the  idea  must  be 
indorsed  before  it  can  be  “cashed.”  In  the  case 
of  suggestion,  however,  the  indorsee  and  the' cashier 
are  one  and  the  same  personality. 

The  fact  that  suggestion  transcends  mere 1  atten¬ 
tion  may  become  more  obvious  when  we  examine  - 
a  concrete  case.  A  small  boy,  four  years  old,  came 
running  home  crying.  In  response  to  the  ques¬ 
tions  of  his  father  he  explained  that  some  apples 
„  he  had  eaten  were  pronounced  poisonous  by  his' 
playmates.  His  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  his 
playmates  resulted  in  the  excruciating  pain  gen¬ 
erally  associated  with  the  eating  of  tainted  food. 
Assureds  by  his  father  that  he  had  been  misled 
and  that  the  fruit  was  edible,  the  youthful  sufferer 
soon  rid  himself  of  the  pain.  have  made  mere 
poisoning  the  material  of  attention  would  have 
occasioned  no  physical  distress,  but  the  belief  that 
he  was  actually  poisoned  induced  the  reaction. 
Attention  fis  such  is  merely  selective,  faith  is  the 
^  personal  acceptance  of  an  idea  as  activity.  T]ie 
mental  prominence /  qf  an  idea  does  not  of  itself 
constitute  a  suggestion,  but  only  when  the  person 
is  inclined  to  act  upon  it  or  to  be  influenced  by  it  ' 
does  the  mental  impression  tend  to  express  itself. 
The  idea  of  heat  becomes  a  suggestion  only  when  /; 
a  sense  of  risiqg  temperature  is  induced. 

Faith  may  be  regarded  as  an  inverted  memory 
image.  If  is  a'  much  warmer  state  of  mind  than 
an  imaginary  picture.  While  memory  is  conscious 
knowledge  of  the  past,  faith  is  a  firm  assurance 
that  a  future  event  is  as  certain  to  occur  as  if  it 
had  already  happened.  It  is  more  than  simple l 
apprehension;  it  transcends  the  feeling  of  mere  \ 


\ 


32  -  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

reality.  It  attaches  to  its  object  a  sense  of  security 
tand  confirmation.  While  knowledge  and  emotion 
are  not  foreign  to  faith,  its  unmistakable  criterion 
is  preparedness  to  act.  Faith  without  works  is 
dead.  Action  is  its  very  essence. 

We  have  faith  in  that  which,  for  us,  is  uncon¬ 
tradicted.  Doubtless  the  small  child  is  credulous, 
believing  everything  and  proceeding  upon  the  un¬ 
tested  assumption  that  whatever  is  presented  to 
him  is  the  truth.  He  has  no  suspicions  because  he 
lacks  experience  and  the  power  of  reasoning.  As> 
the  mind  develops  and  a  fund  of  experience  accumu¬ 
lates,  the  demand  for  proof  and  confirmation  be¬ 
comes  increasingly  insistent.  Faith  tends  to  become 
rationalized.  It  is  a  belief  of  mind  as  well  as  a 
trust  of  the  heart.  When  credulity  is  shocked  by 
contradictions,  the  range  of  ideas  in  which  one 
can  believe  is  restricted. 

We  are  likely  to  have  the  greatest  faith  in  the 
idea  which  spontaneously  holds  the  attention.  One 
is  easily  swayed  by  ideas  which  are  related  to  one’s 
bodily  appetites,  the  emotions  and  passions,  or  which 
promise  gratifying  and  immediate  results.  Ideas 
concerned  with  far-off  considerations  and  postponed 
emergencies  are  relatively  cold.  In  the  face  of  the 
-  overwhelming  surge  of  instincts  and  emotions,  a 
distinct  effort  must  be  put  forth  by  the  average 
man  to  hold  before  the  mind  the  more  rational  and 
moral  ideas.  It  requires  effort  to  make  such  ideas 
controlling  factors  in  conduct. 

The  part  which  faith  plays  in  suggestion  is  para¬ 
mount.  It  expresses  itself  in  an  expenditure  of 
energy.  Its  function  is  to  initiate  a  subconscious 
process  and  to  give  it  point  and  direction.  It  is  a 


J 


SUGGESTION  33 

strained  expectancy  which  increases  the  circulation 
of  the  blood,  the  outlay  of  nervous  force,  and  which 
centers  nutrition  for  the  expression  of  the  sug¬ 
gested  idea.  In  its  initial  stages  faith  is  self-asser¬ 
tion,  activity  of  the  will,  a  striving  toward  the 
expression  of  the  suggested  idea.  Its  stimulative 
feature  will  be  still  more  clearly  brought  out 
when  the  subconscious  element  in  suggestion  is 
treated. 

The  subconscious  mind  reacts  to  faith  as  such. 
The  outcome  of  a  suggestion  is  not  determined  by  ^ 
the  nature  of  the  object  of  faith  but  by  organic 
activities  aroused  by  expectations.  It  is  significant 
that  mind  cures  are  placed  to  the  credit  of  divers 
agencies.  It  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated 
that  the  idea  of  health  tends  to  realize  itself  regard¬ 
less  of  whether  the  patient  relies  upon  the  efficacy 
of  a  sacred  relic,  a  bread-pill,  or  a  magnetic  healer. 
The  reliance  upon  a  motley  variety  of  remedial 
agencies  coupled  with  the  added  fact  that  all  are 
effectual  in  the  healing  of  the  same  kind  of  diseases, 
makes  it  necessary  to  draw  the  conclusion  that, 
it  is  faith  as  such,  and  not  necessarily  the  powers 
invoked,  which  cures.  The  expectation  of  the 
reaction  is  of  primary  importance,  the  character 
of  the  reputed  means  is  irrelevant. 

The  self-realization  of  the  suggested  idea. — The 
third  essential  of  suggestion  is  the  self-expression 
of  the  idea  through  the  automatic  processes  of  the 
personality.  Once  securely  lodged  in  the  mind 
and  accepted,  an  idea  by  virtue  of  the  constitution 
of  man  tends  to  fulfill  itself.  Any  idea  held  in 
mind  tends  to  express  itself.  “In  short,  mental 
and  motor  automatism  constitute  the  prominent 


34 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


elements  of  suggestion.,,2  The  procedure  is  largely 
subconscious. 

The  range  of  our  mental  life  is  fa£  more  extensive 
than  the  activities  of  which  weTare  pointedly  aware; 
growths  and  connections  within  the  personal  life, 
of  which  we  have  no  momentary  clear  conscious¬ 
ness,  are  all  the  while  occurring.  A  subconscious  j 
/  process  is  any  form  of  mental  action  which  is  influ¬ 
ential  but  not  clearly"  recognized  and  identified  by 
M:he  self.  Only  the  ripples  of  the  great  stream  of 
life  come  within  the  sphere  of  consciousness.  Most 
of  life  is  submerged  beneath  the  level  of  awareness. 
It  is  the  function  of  the  waking  consciousness  to 
cope  with  novel  situations.  If  problems  are  solved 
often  enough,  awareness  refers  the  task  to  the 
automatic  apparatus.  Observe  the  conscious  effort 
expended  by  a  child  when  he  learns  to  button  his 
shoes, /  and  '  the  ease  and  lack  of  attention  with 
which  an  adult  performs  the  same  operation! 
Through  repetition  and  practice  that  which  is  .  at 
first  consciously  undertaken  tends  to  become  auto¬ 
matic,  subconscious. 

The  mental  pathology  of  daily  life  affords  many 
striking  examples  of  subconscious  activity.  On 
close  inspection,  such  seeming  aberrations  as  lapse 
of  memory,  slips  of  the  tongue  and  pen,  misspelled 
words  and  oversights  suggest  the  presence  of  this 
underlying  stratum  of  mind.  Some  time  ago  the 
writer  was  requested  to  inquire  about  the  health 
of  the  wife  of  a  friend  with  whom  he  was  then 
conversing  by  telephone,  but  hung  up  the  receiver 
without  complying.  The  failure  seemed  as  inex¬ 
cusable  as  unaccountable,  but  later,  while  reading, 


*  Sidis.  Boris:  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  10. 


jp.  Appleton  &  Co. 


SUGGESTION 


35 


it  flashed  across  his  mind  that  that  very  afternoon 
he  had  met  the  woman  upon  the  street  and  had 
most  solicitously  inquired  about  her  health.  Again, 
when  building  a  fire  he  passed  by  a  newspaper 
within  easy  reach  and  hunted  elsewhere  for  com¬ 
bustible  material.  Later  it  occurred  to  him  that 
'  the  paper  contained  an  editorial  which  he  had 
resolved  to  read  at  his  earliest  convenience.  Re- 

y  ..  v  .  -  v  .  •, 

cently  he  has  discovered  a  pronounced  tendency 
to  strike  lightly  the  wrong  key  when  using  the  x 
typewriter.  Grotesque  mistakes  in  spelling  are 
frequently  traced  to  the  intrusion  of  fresh  ideas 
while  writing.  Psychologists  are  convinced  that 
these  apparent  deviations  from  the  normal  are  at 
bottom  subconscious  correctives  or  supplements. 

As  intimated  above,  the  subconscious  is  that 
vast  tract  of  mental  life  which  is  not  the  material 
of  momentary  reflective  scrutiny.  In  the  very 
nature  of  the  case  it  eludes  introspection,  and  any 
information  of  it  which  we  may  possess  is  gained 
by  indirect  means.  We  may  reasonably  infer  that 
it  includes  our  biases  and  prejudices,  our  moods 
and  instincts,  our  memories  and  impressions  of  the 
past,  our  habits  of  appreciation  and  modes  of  de¬ 
cision.  Some  of  its  elements  we -welcome  when 
they  invade  the  focus  of  consciousness;  others  we 
tend  to  repress  whenever  they  assert  their  presence. 
Many  subconscious  accumulations  have  at  one  time 
been  the  object  of  awareness  others  have  glided 
into  the  mind  without  attractmg  attention.  Often 
impressions  sink  beneath  the  level  of  cognizance 
ohly  to  reappear  in  transformed  shape.  It  is  said 
that  in  the  European  War  certain  officers  began  to  \ 
issue  written  orders  to  those  subordinates  who  were 


36  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

v 

at  a  distance,  because  messages  transmitted  orally 
from  soldier  to  soldier  until  they  reached  the^  person 
for  whom  they  were  intended  were  often  delivered 
in  garbled  or  even  unrecognizable  form. 

The  relation  between  the  subconscious  and  con¬ 
scious  mental  activity  is  one  of  absolute  unity  and 
complete  continuity.  There  is  no  gulf  fixed  be¬ 
tween  them.  They  are  not  independent  of  one 
another.  Each  influences  the  other.  The  one 
merges  into  the  other.  The  subconscious  is  not 
split  off  from  the  main  stream  of  thought  and 
activity.  There  is  no  so-called  subjective  self 
with  an  identity  and  consciousness  of  its  own. 
Neither  is  there  an  objective  self  having  a  distinct 
and  separate  existence.  The  subconscious  is  not 
an  artificer,  self-conscious  and  subject  to  moments 
of  exaltation  and  periods  of  depression  of  which 
dear  consciousness  is  ignorant.  Far  from  acting 
upon  its  own  initiative  and  responsibility,  it  is 
definitely  and  organically  related  to  a  centrally 
organizing  and  unitary  self.  Such  forms  of  mental 
behavior  as  hypnosis  and  multiple  personality  are 
not  independent  selves,  but  abnormal  variants  of 
the  one  central  self.  We  are  not  two  or  more  selves, 
but  one  self  which  may,  it  is  true,  experience  various 
alterations. 

Just  what  goes  on  beneath  the  level  of  awareness, 
or  just  how  suggestive  ideas  are  realized,  is  still 
largely  a  matter  of  speculation.  The  student 
\  should  beware  lest  he  impute  to  the  subconscious 
magical  powers  it  does  not  possess.  It  can  com¬ 
bine  and  develop  its  furnishings  only  within  certain 
limitations.  It  is  not  a  factory  in  which  substantial 
things  are  made  from  material  elements  or  forces 


SUGGESTION 


37 


having  no  connection  with  our  ordinary  life.  Ideas 
are  not  substantial  and  material  things.  They  are 
a  form  of  mental  reaction.'  'Possibly  they  may  be 
thought  of  as  highly  specialized  and  articulate  phases 
of  feeling.  •  '  .  '  * 

A  suggestion  is,  after  all,  just  what  the  word 
implies,  namely,  a  hint,  a  prompting,  a  cue  whicb'^ 
tends  to  express  itself  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  our  being.  It  is  tolerably  certain  that  every 
idea  held  steadily  before  the  mind  inspires  belief 
in  its  worth  and  exerts  a  pressure  upon  the  nervous 
system.  Many  experiments  prove  that  even  ab¬ 
stract  ideas  obey  the  law  of  motor  discharge,  reflect¬ 
ing  themselves  in  changes  in  heart-beat,  breathing, 
digestion,  and  secretion.  As  a  normal  consequence 
of  the  structure  of  the  nervous  system,  the  natq^al 
outcome  of  every  sensation  and  idea,  of  every 
impulse  and  mental  current,  is  action.  Hints 
gleajied  from  various  sources  indicate  that  complex 
suggested  ideas,  expectantly  attended  to,  occaid/bn 
a  process  of  subconscious  growth  in  the  direction 
of  their  realization.  Professor  Jastrow  writes, 
“There  exists  in  all  intellectual  endeavor  a  period 
of  incubation,  a  process  in  great  part  subconscious, 
a  slow,  concealed  maturing  through  the  absorption 
of  suitable  pabulum.”3  And  Professor  Starbuck 
says:  “After  one  exerts  an  effort,  the  fruition  of 
it  is  accomplished  by  the  life-forces  which  act 
through  the  personality.  It  is  a  well-known  law 
of  the  nervous  system  that  it  Tends  to  form  itself 
in  accordance  with  the  mode  in  which  it  is  habitually 
exercised.’  It  is  only  a  slight  variation  on  this  law 
to  say  that  the  nervous  system  grows  in  the  direc- 

3  Jastrow,  Joseph:  The  Subconscious ,  p.  99.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


38  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


tion  of  the  expenditure  of  effort. ”4  These  supple¬ 
mentary  quotations  throw  a  few  grateful  rays  of 
light  upon  the  subconscious  processes  involved  in 
suggestion.  Attention  as  a  selective  agency  deter¬ 
mines  just  which  idea  shall  be  held  in  mental  focus. 
Faith  as  the  challenge  of  expectation  encourages 
subconscious  activities.  The  interaction  of  the  will 
and  the  organic  vitality  creates  the  subconscious 
product. 

The  element  of  time  is  an  important  factor  in 
the  realization  of  the  suggested  idea.  The  length 
of  the  period  of  subconscious  incubation  varies 
directly  with  the  difficulty  and  complexity  of  the 
idea.  The  time  also  varies  with  different  indi¬ 
viduals,  for  what  may  be  complex  and  difficult 
for  some  may  be  relatively  simple  and  easy  for 
others.  Some  suggested  ideas  realize  themselves 
almost  instantly;  others  require  a  longer  period  of 
time.  In  response  to  the  suggestion  that  one  is 
blushing,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  blood  will 
flow  to  the  surface  of  the  face  in  copious  quantities 
at  once.  Blushing  involves  a  relatively  simple 
subconscious  activity;  hence  the  suggestion  is  real¬ 
ized  almost  instantaneously.  On  the  other  hand, 
considerable  time  may  be  consumed  and  repeated 
stimulation  be  necessary  in  the  cure  of  a  nervous 
disease  through  suggestion.  The  time  required  is, 
then,  a  variable  quantity,  being  regulated  by  both 
the  condition  of  the  person  and  the  complexity  of 
the  suggested  idea. 

Effort  and  relaxation. — Furthermore,  it  is  a  com¬ 
mon  experience  that  after  many  seemingly  fruitless 
attempts  to  realize  a  difficult  suggestion  have  been 

4  Star  buck,  Edwin  D. :  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  hi.  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 


SUGGESTION 


39 


followed  by  a  period  of  rest,  a  fresh  effort  is  attended 
by  astonishing  success.  For  instance,  "one  may 
make  a  prolonged  and  conscientious  effort  to  master 
the  art  of  typewriting.  After  a  certain  degree  of 
skill  has  been  attained  one  may  fail  to  detect  any 
appreciable  progress  despite  continued  effort.  If 
the  work  is  discontinued  for  a  season  and  then 
resumed,  one  may  be  astonished  at  the  ease  with 
which  one  now  masters  the  typewriter.  During  the 
interval  of  complete  rest  two  things  probably 
occur.  Countless  hindering  tendencies  which  are 
naturally  developed  through  unsuccessful  effort  dis¬ 
appear  during  the  rest  period.  The  more  firmly 
established  associations  involving  speed  and  accu¬ 
racy,  however,  tend  to  become-  the  more  deeply 
intrenched.  The  inhibiting  activities,  being  only 
slightly  drilled  Jn,  tend  to  atrophy  during  the  time 
of  rest,  but  the  correct  impressions  being  sufficiently 
ingrained  grow  through  the  nutrient  changes  brought 
about  by  the  action  of  the  blood.5 

It  is  quite  certain  that,  in  difficult  and  complex 
suggestion,  an  intermission  has  the  same  dual 
effect.  On  the  one  hand,  it  furthers  subconscious 
incubation  in  the  right  direction.  On  the  other, 
it  tends  to  uproot  hindering  associations  built  up 
through  misdirected  effort.  If,  in  such  cases,  no 
temporary  release  from  effort  occurs,  there  is  grave 
danger  that  the  wrong  tendencies  gain  the 
ascendency  over  the  correct  ones,  and  that  the 
very  purpose  of  the  suggestion  be  defeated.  In¬ 
ability  to  realize  a  suggestion  beyond  a  certain 
point,  in  spite  of  repeated  stimulation,  may  be  an 
indication  that  a  respite  is  needed. 


8  See  Book,  W.  F.:  Psychology  of  Skill.  University  of  Montana. 


40 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


In  some  casjes '  of  suggestion  the  person  comes 
to  feel  that  further  striving  can  avail  nothing;  and 
then,  when  he  becomes  inactive,  the  self-realization 
’  of  the  idea  is  completed.  An  analogous  occurrence 
is  the  recollection  of  a  name  after  one  has  ceased' 
all  effort  to  bring  it  to  remembrance.  One  may 
try  to  recall  the  word  “pear”  and  strain  in  the 
direction  of  the  word  “peach”;  which  is  the  rigjht 
general  direction  so  far  as  the  first  three  letters 
are  concerned,  but  wrong  with  respect  to  the  last 
two.  Cessation  of  effort,  however,  permits  thfe 
process  of  association  to  correct  and  complete  the 
act  of  memory. 

•  When  the  suggested  idea  has  been  almost  realized 
benpath  the  threshold  of  consciousness,  cessation 
of  conscious  striving  and  straining  seems  to  open 
the  w&y-for  its  emergence.  Subconscious  develop¬ 
ment  and  conscious  exertion  may  be  working  toward 
the  same  general  end  but  from  slightly  different 
angles.  So  long  as  the  two  lines  of  action  are  not 
parallel,  or  the  opposition  of  the  conscious  endeavor 
is  not  withdrawn,  the  subconscious  product  cannot 
be  completed.  Slightly  misdirected  activities  of 
the  will  guard  the  entrance  to  consciousness  but, 
when  they  relax,  the  subconsciously  incubated  idea 
t  crosses  the  threshold.  Passivity,  inactivity,  apathy, 
j  indifference,  and  sometimes  even  despair,  accom- 
i  pany  the  surrender  of  the  will,  but  when  the  sug- 
•  gestion  isN  expressed  they  are  replaced  by  satis¬ 
faction,  interest,  exhilaration,  and  exaltation.  Self- 
surrender,  or  cessation  of  effort,  may  be  regarded 
as  a  form  of  faith.  It  is  passive  faith,  as  contrasted 
with  the  active,  stimulative  faith  already  con¬ 
sidered. 


SUGGESTION  41 

*  i 

/ 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  SUGGESTION 

7  V 

Suggestion  may  be'  classified  from  am  almost 
indefinite  number  of  approaches.  Thus  far,  only, 
normal  suggestion  has  engaged  our  attention,  be-, 
cause  with  the  abnormal  form  we  shall  have  but 
little  to  do.  Abnormal  suggestibility  characterizes, 
hypnotism,  and  this  mental  state  will  receive  only 
incidental  reference.  Our  interest  centers  in  the 
normal,  regular,  ordinary,  and  waking  mental 
state  in  which  suggestion  is  a  natural  and  common 
occurrence.  All  normal  suggestions  may  be  divided 
into  social  and  autosuggestions,  and  these,  in 
turn,  may  be  subdivided  into  positive  and  negative, 
and  intentional  and  unintentional  varieties.  Fur¬ 
ther  sifting  would  doubtless  disclose  additional 
kinds,  but  those  indicated  will  serve  the  present 
purposes. 

Social  and  autosuggestion. — A  social  suggestion  o 
f  has  its  source  indirectly  in  a  volitional  pressure  > 
'^exerted  by  another  self.  ~  In  autosuggestion  theA 
’idea  is  self-imposed,  the  field  of  consciousness  being  j 
/  restricted  on  one’s  own  initiative.  That  a  social 
suggestion  arises  from  without  and  an  autosug¬ 
gestion  from  within  is  a  distinction  that  must 
not,  however,  be  pressed  too  hard,  for  in  auto¬ 
suggestion,  the  prompting  may  be  merely  imme¬ 
diately  internal.  More  remotely,  it  may  have 
been  external.  Often  the  difference  is  simply  one 
in  the  degree  of  mental  elaboration  which  a  sug¬ 
gested  idea  undergoes  before  it  is  realized.  When 
an  idea  suggested  by  another  person  is  but  slightly 
elaborated  in  the  mind  before  it  is  expressed,  we 
may  speak  of  a  social  suggestion;  but  when  an  idea 


42 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


is  considerably  modified  before  it  is  expressed,  we 
may.  call  it  an  autosuggestion.  In  a  sense,  every 
social  suggestion  to  become  effective  must  become 
autosuggestion.  An  idea,  introduced  into  the  mind 
by  an  external  will,  may  be  so  modified  by  the 
sentiments  and  instincts,  biases  and  prejudices  it 
encounters,  by  the  associations  and  emotions  it 
arouses,  that  it  loses  its  original  force  and  character. 
Every  suggestion  becomes  more  or  less  tinged  with 
the  mental  states  of  the  self  in  which  it  is  efficacious. 
Hence  it  is  not  always  possible  to  determine  abso¬ 
lutely  whether  one  is  having  to  do  with  a  social  or 
an  autosuggestion. 

Positive  and  negative  suggestion. — From  the 
point  of  view  of  form,  all  suggestions  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes — the  positive  and  the 
negative.  The  object  of  the  positive  suggestion 
is  the  creation  of  something  new,  something  which 
the  self  is  eager  to  obtain.  The  negative  suggestion 
is  in  terms  of  what  one  wishes  to  rid  the  self  of  or 
to  avoid.  The  former  is  constructive,  the  latter 
destructive.  If  a  child,  who  is  afraid  of  certain 
unpleasant  dreams  that  have  a  tendency  to  recur, 
at  bedtime  suggests  to  himself  that  he  will  have 
delightful  dreams,  like  those  of  success  at  play  or 
the  bestowal  of  gifts  upon  himself,  he  is  making 
a  positive  suggestion.  But  he  is  engaged  in  making 
negative  suggestions  when  he  suggests  to  himself 
that  he  will  not  dream  horrible  dreams,  like  those 
of  being  attacked  by  wild  beasts.  As  he  passes  in 
mental  review  the  dreaded  nocturnal  visitations, 
he  heightens  the  probability  of  their  recurrence. 
Since  whatever  is  persistently  held  in  mental 
focus  tends  to  generate  belief  in  its  reality,  the 


SUGGESTION 


43 


positive  suggestion  is  on  the  wfhole  the  more 
efficacious. 

A  negative  suggestion  is  sometimes  ineffective  be¬ 
cause  the  mind  is  in  a  state  of  confusion.  The  con¬ 
sciousness  of  facing  a  dilemma  imperils  its  effective¬ 
ness.  Who  has  not  been  tormented  by  misspelled  or 
mispronounced  words?  When  there  is  an  occasion 
to  make  use  of  them,  there  is,  at  least  momentarily, 
confusion  as  to  their  correct  spelling  or  pronuncia¬ 
tion.  Ideas  of  abnormalities  sometimes  tend  to 
become  embarrassingly  prominent  in  the  mind. 
If  one  suggest  to  a  maiden  that  she  shall  not  blush, 
her  face  is  likely  to  become  crimson.  One  method 
of  remembering  is  trying  to  forget.  -  Because  it 
expresses  repression,  denial,  refusal,  and  negation, 
the  adverb,  “not”  is  the  most  uninteresting  and 
unattractive  word  in  the  English  language;  hence 
it  tends  to  evaporate  from  prohibitions.  Some 
minds  are  so  organized  that  a  restraint  assumes 
the  form  and  force  of  a  challenge,  of  defiance. 

Nevertheless,  one  should  not  be  in  hot  haste  to 
conclude  that  negative  suggestions  are  invariably 
futile.  The  contrary  is  often  true.  But  when  they 
are  effective  the  outcome  may  be  traceable  to  the 
fact  that  they  serve  to  purge  an  otherwise  whole¬ 
some  personality  of  unwholesome  elements.  It  is 
well  known  that  emotional  and  ideational  expression 
'tends  to  liberate  certain  distressing  states  of  mind. 
A  common  method  of  obtaining  mental  relief  is  to 
get  a  troublesome  element  “off  the  mind,”  or  “out 
of  the  system.”  “Confession  is  good  for  the  soul,” 
is  a  psychologically  justifiable  adage.  Unless  chan¬ 
nels  are  opened  for  the  effectual  discharge  of  fester¬ 
ing  mental  conditions,  serious  disturbances  of  the 


44 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


mind  are  likely  to  obtain.  We  shall  have  occasion 
to  examine  the  psychological  basis  of  this  unique 
process  when  we  study  devotional  prayer. 

Intentional  and  unintentional  suggestion. — With 
reference  to  the  individual’s  knowledge  of  its  pres¬ 
ence,  suggestion  may  be  divided  into  two  addi¬ 
tional  classes — the  intentional  and  the  unintentional. 
An  intentional  suggestion  is  deliberately  made  with 
the  knowledge  that  the  principles  of  suggestion  are 
being  applied  with  a  specific  end  in  view.  A  case 
in  point  would  be  the  conscious  and  circumspect 
use  of  autosuggestion  for  the  purpose  of  inducing 
pleasant  dreams.  But  when  a  child,  blissfully 
ignorant  of  the  theory  and  first  principles  of  auto¬ 
suggestion,  which  he  nevertheless  applies  in  seeking 
undisturbed  repose,  attributes  the  result  to  the 
influence  of  an  extraneous  agency,  such  as  a  guardian 
angel,  we  have  to  do  with  unintentional  sugges¬ 
tion.  We  are  constantly  giving  and  receiving  sug¬ 
gestions  unintentionally  the  effect  of  which  it  would 
be  impossible  to  measure. 

It  is  evident  that  since  whatever  is  unintentionally 
done  is  accomplished  with  great  ease  and  effect, 
unintentional  suggestion  is  the  more  efficacious. 
Note  the  vast  difference  between  intentional  and 
unintentional  imitation!  How  crude  and  imperfect 
the  former,  how  perfect  and  easily  accomplished 
the  latter!  In  fact,  imitation  may  be  defined  as 
a  form  of  social  suggestion  which  reinstates  a  copy. 
Professor  Jastrow  says  that  he  can  readily  adjust 
a  certain  kind  of  necktie  if  he  does  not  consciously 
attempt  the  adjustment,  that  if  he  begins  to  reason 
which  end  goes  under  and  which  over  and  observes 
his  movements  in  a  mirror  a  hopeless  failure  is  the 


SUGGESTION 


45 


probable  issue.6  Professor  Baldwin  reports  that  it 
is  impossible  for  him  to  induce  a  state  of  drowsi¬ 
ness  by  imagining  himself  asleep.  The  first  effort 
leads  to  a  state  of  restfulness  only  to  be  succeeded 
by  a  condition  of  steady  wakefulness,  which  is 
intensified  by  an  increasing  consciousness  of  self.7 
Another  case  in  point  is  the  frantic  effort  of  one 
learning  to  ride  a  bicycle  to  preserve  his  balance 
and  to  avoid  obstacles  in  the  way.  Overguidance 
by  the  conscious  powers  has  a  tendency  to  make 
the  manipulation  of  the  delicate  mechanism  of 
suggestion  awkward  and  inefficient. 

Unintentional  suggestion  is  relatively  frictionless, 
employing  the  automatic  processes  which  yield 
maximum  returns  for  the  effort  expended.  A 
physician  relates  that  one  winter  night  in  his  hotel 
room  he  became  unpleasantly  aware  of  the  need 
of  ventilation.  Raising  one  window  from  below 
and  lowering  another  from  above,  he  soon  was 
conscious  of  a  refreshing  circulation.  Experiencing 
a  positive  sense  of  exhilaration,  he  retired  for  the 
night  in  the  same  room.  The  following  morning 
he  was  amazed  to  find  that  all  the  windows  of 
the  room  were  reenforced  by  storm-windows,  which 
did  not  admit  a  breath  of  air,  regardless  of  the 
open  inside  windows.  Imagine  the  difficulty,  but 
not  the  impossibility,  of  intentionally  obtaining  the 
same  result. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SUGGESTION 

Suggestion  has  power  to  affect  every  variety  of 
mental  activity.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exhaust 

6Jastrow,  Joseph:  The  Subconscious,  p.  30.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 

7  Baldwin,  James  M.:  Mental  Development  in  the  Child  and  the  Race,  p.  139. 
The  Macmillan  Company. 


46 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


its  possibilities,  for  it  influences  the  whole  gamut 
of  personal  experience.  No  person  can  wholly 
escape  its  effects,  for  all  men  are  more  or  less  sug¬ 
gestible.  The  state  of  normal  suggestibility  is  not 
a  pathological  condition,  unless  the  person  has 
lost  self-control  and  is  at  the  mercy  of  external 
forces  impinging  upon  the  mind.  Man  is  educable 
largely  because  he  is  suggestible.  It  would  be 
hard  to  overestimate  the  value  of  suggestion  as  a 
factor  in  social  progress.8 

The  threefold  effect  of  suggestion. — Suggestion 
modifies  the  self  in  three  ways — by  inhibiting,  in¬ 
ducing,  and  heightening  states.  It  often  inhibits, 
suppresses,  checks  mental  states.  In  the  hypnotic 
state,  suggestions  that  the  subject  is  powerless  to 
move  an  arm  or  to  see  an  object  actually  present, 
and  many  others  of  a  similar  inhibitory  character, 
are  frequently  realized.  Normal  suggestion  of  this 
type  is  especially  effective  in  affording  relief  from 
pain.  The  mother  kisses  and  laughs  away  the 
aches  of  her  child.  The  mind  healer  banishes  phys¬ 
ical  torment.  From  the  above  description  of 
negative  suggestion  it  will  be  clear  that  the  most 
effective  method  of  inhibiting  states  is  to  let  the 
mind  function  in  the  opposite  direction,  to  eliminate 
by  substitution,  to  close  one  set  of  channels  by 
opening  another.  The  cultivation  of  objective¬ 
mindedness  will  eradicate  bashfulness,  love  will  cast 
out  fear. 

Suggestion  has  the  power  to  induce  an  almost 
endless  variety  of  mental  products.  Looking  at 
the  full  moon  shining  in  a  clear  sky,  one  may  dis- 

8  See  Noble,  E.:  “Suggestion  as  a  Factor  in  Social  Progress,”  International 
Journal  of  Ethics,  1898,  p.  214ft. 


SUGGESTION 


47 


cern  almost  anything  the  notion  of  which  is  imposed 
upon  the  mind — an  illuminated  fissure-riven  sur¬ 
face,  the  front  view  of  a  fat  man’s  smiling  face,  a 
woman’s  profile  half-hidden  by  her  tresses.  Mr. 
Maurice  H.  Small,  making  an  experimental  study 
of  the  suggestibility  of  children,  found  that  many 
of  his  subjects  in  response  to  suggestion  experienced 
an  illusion  of  perfume,  although  only  water  was 
sprayed  from  an  atomizer;  an  illusion  of  the  taste 
of  salt,  sugar,  and  quinine,  although  only  pure 
distilled  water  was  given;  an  illusion  of  the  move¬ 
ment  of  a  cast-iron  camel  which  really  remained 
stationary;  an  illusion  of  heat,  although  no  hot 
stimulus  was  applied;  an  illusion  of  itching  and 
tickling,  although  the  skin  was  not  touched.9 

A  student  was  an  eyewitness  of  a  case  of  sug¬ 
gestion  that  involved  the  removal  of  the  isinglass 
of  a  stove  in  a  village  store  by  a  group  of  practical 
jokers,  and  the  substitution  of  red  glazed  paper 
that  gave  the  appearance,  to  a  superficial  observer, 
of  a  comfortable  fire  although  there  was  none. 
Several  customers,  coming  into  the  store  from  the 
cold  without,  approached  the  fireless  stove  with 
outstretched  hands,  and  gave  every  sign  of  absorb¬ 
ing  heat.  It  is  evident  that  the  possibilities  of 
affecting  the  self  by  inducing  states  are  legion. 

Again,  mental  states  already  present  may  be 
heightened.  Such  activities  as  perception,  memory, 
reasoning,  and  action  may  be  augmented  by  sug¬ 
gestion.  Memory  is  strengthened  when  one  makes 
the  self-suggestion  that  he  will  recollect  the  data 
with  which  the  mind  is  being  charged.  An  other¬ 
wise  impossible  action,  such  as  the  lifting  of  a 


®  The  Suggestibility  of  Children,  Pedagogical  Seminary,  1896,  p.  i76ff. 


I 


48  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


heavy  weight,  may  be  accomplished  as  the  result 
of  the  idea  that  it  can  be  done.  Increase  in  pulse 
rate  occasioned  by  the  self-consciousness  of  the 
patient  often  frustrates  the  attempt  of  a  physician 
to  determine  the  real  condition  of  the  heart.  Pro¬ 
fessor  Coe  refers  to  a  small  boy,  mildly  affected 
with  asthma,  who  invariably  returned  home  from 
a  visit  to  his  grandmother  with  his  malady  per¬ 
ceptibly  aggravated.  She  would  say,  “Come  here, 
child,  and  let  me  hear  you  breathe!”  The  exclama¬ 
tions  and  coddling  which  followed  made  him  worse.10 
These  simple  illustrations  indicate  the  manifold 
operations  and  ramifications  of  suggestion. 

The  province  of  suggestion. — In  an  exuberant 
appreciation  of  the  possibilities  of  suggestion,  it 
is  well  to  remember  that  it  is  not  omnipotent. 
There  are  limitations  which  it  cannot  transcend. 
Its  direct  influence  is  circumscribed  by  the  im¬ 
movable  boundaries  of  the  mental  life.  Its  limita¬ 
tions  are  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  its  direct  effect 
is  restricted  to  personal  influence.  In  the  second 
place,  within  the  sphere  of  mental  activity,  it  is 
furthermore  limited  by  the  amount  of  vitality 
which  the  human  organism  possesses.  Since  sug¬ 
gestion  is  not  effective  outside  the  scope  of  per¬ 
sonal  influence,  one  is  certain  to  be  disappointed 
if  one  throws  a  stone  into  the  air  with  the  expecta¬ 
tion  that  it  be  suspended  in  midair.  To  be  sure, 
one  might  be  positive  that  the  stone  was  behaving 
in  that  extraordinary  manner;  but  this  would  be 
an  hallucination,  a  false  subjective  experience. 
No  amount  of  suggestion  can  bring  the  mountain 
to  Mohammed.  The  most  that  it  can  do  is  to 


10  Coe,  G.  A.:  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  160.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


SUGGESTION 


49 


bring  Mohammed  to  the  mountain.  Suggestion,  it 
is  true,  has  an  indirect  influence  on  inanimate 
objects  by  affecting  the  human  agent  acting  upon 
them.  Its  control  over  what  is  other  than  mental 
is  of  necessity  indirect  and  through  a  self. 

On  the  other  hand,  only  when  there  is  an  ade¬ 
quate  degree  of  force  resident  within  the  organism 
can  the  suggested  idea  be  realized.  It  is  possible 
to  overestimate  the  potency  of  the  organic  processes 
and  thereby  fail  to  induce  the  expected  reaction. 
When  disease  has  lowered  the  vitality  of  the  human 
organism  below  a  certain  degree,  the  life  forces  are 
too  weak  to  realize  the  idea  of  health,  be  it  ever 
so  persistently  held  in  mind  and  relied  upon  by  the 
patient.  It  would  be  impossible  for  a  man  to  lift 
a  ton  by  sheer  strength  of  arm  in  response  to  the 
suggestion  that  he  is  equal  to  the  Herculean  feat. 
Life  is  too  short  and  the  organic  processes  too 
feeble  to  realize  some  suggested  ideas.  The  sub¬ 
conscious  is  not  an  inexhaustible  reservoir  of  super¬ 
human  energy.  Suggestion  is  effective  only  when 
it  lies  within  the  range  of  the  mental  life  and  when 
the  personality  possesses  vitality  enough  to  real¬ 
ize  it. 

Real  and  imaginary  results  . — It  is  clear  from 
the  foregoing  examples  that  sometimes  the  products 
of  suggestion  are  imaginary  and  illusory,  and  some¬ 
times  actual  and  real.  The  distinction  must  not 
be  pressed  too  hard.  The  ordinary  distinction  be¬ 
tween  fact  and  fancy  indicates  in  a  practical  manner 
the  line  of  cleavage.  For  the  purposes  of  classifi¬ 
cation  one  may  legitimately  refer,  on  the  one  hand, 
as  imaginary,  to  the  realization  of  the  idea  sug¬ 
gested  to  a  hypnotized  person  that  he  sees  a  serpent 


50 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


when  there  is  none  present  and,  on  the  other,  as 
real,  to  the  elimination  of  moral  evil  by  the  expul¬ 
sive  power  of  suggestion. 

It  is  shortsighted  to  undervalue  the  actual  results 
as  well  as  the  imaginary  effects  of  suggestion.  To 
regard  all  achievements  of  suggestion  as  equally 
evanescent  and  illusory  is  to  entertain  a  perilous 
and  false  notion  of  the  operations  of  the  mind. 
The  real  accomplishments  of  suggestion  are  as 
perceptible,  as  legitimate,  and  as  serviceable  as 
those  from  any  other  source. 

Thinking  back  over  the  salient  points  of  this 
chapter,  we  conclude  that  a  suggestion  uninten¬ 
tionally  made,  positive  in  content,  engendering  faith 
in  its  own  worth,  and  falling  within  the  range  of 
subconscious  influence  is  the  suggestion  of  highest 
efficiency  and  value. 

POINTS  OF  CONTACT  WITH  PRAYER 

It  is  not  hard  to  discover  elements  common  to 
suggestion  and  prayer.  Both  involve  a  mental 
impression.  Both  are  said  to  depend  for  success 
in  large  measure  upon  concentration  of  the  mind 
and  faith.  Not  unlike  a  social  suggestion,  a  prayer 
offered  by  one  person  may  impress  itself  upon  the 
mind  of  another,  pass  through  a  series  of  modi¬ 
fications,  and  issue  in  personal  petitions.  The 
time  spent  in  subconsciously  expressing  a  sug¬ 
gested  idea  and  the  time  required  to  answer  a 
prayer  is  in  either  case  a  variable  quantity.  Prayer 
may  be  either  personal  or  social,  and  positive  or 
negative  in  form. 

Does  petitional  prayer  appropriate  the  technic 
and  mechanism  of  suggestion?  Are  their  spheres 


SUGGESTION 


5i 


of  influence  coextensive?  Can  unanswered  peti¬ 
tions  be  described  as  failures  of  suggestion?  How 
does  prayer  differ  from  suggestion?  To  answer 
these  and  similar  questions  is  the  purpose  of  the 
six  following  chapters.  Accordingly,  we  shall  exam¬ 
ine  the  elements  which  make  prayer  a  mental 
pressure,  the  factors  which  induce  faith  in  its  effi¬ 
cacy,  the  answer  itself,  and  finally  the  unanswered 
petition.  To  anticipate,  suggestion  in  prayer  is  a 
mental  process  which  the  religious  impulse  originates 
and  uses  as  a  means  to  an  end.  It  is  not  an  entity 
in  itself  having  self-existence,  but  in  prayer  it  is 
dependent  upon  the  creativeness  of  the  religious 
nature  of  man.  It  is  an  instrument  which  is  pro¬ 
duced  and  employed. 


CHAPTER  III 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 

In  symbols  peculiar  to  himself  Luther  once  said, 
“Just  as  a  good,  clever  barber  must  have  his  eyes 
and  mind  upon  the  beard  and  razor,  so  as  to  mark 
distinctly  where  he  is  to  shave,  so  everything, 
which  is  to  be  done  well,  ought  to  occupy  the  whole 
man,  with  all  his  faculties  and  members.  How 
much  more,  then,  should  prayer,  if  intended  to  be 
effective,  engage  the  heart  wholly  and  without 
distraction.”1  All  writers  of  devotional  literature 
agree  with  Luther  that  a  vital  element  in  effectual 
prayer  is  the  concentration  of  the  mind.  We  are 
told  that  one  difference  between  genuine  praying 
and  the  mere  saying  of  prayers  is  attention  to, 
and  interest  in,  the  exercise.  In  other  words,  the 
devotional  man  insists  that  in  order  to  be  efficacious 
the  prayer  must  be  impressed  upon  the  mind.  In 
this  particular  he  does  not  differ  from  the  psy¬ 
chologist  who  recognizes  in  the  introduction  of  an 
idea  into  the  mind  an  essential  of  suggestion. 

ACCESSORIES  TO  ATTENTION 

A- 

During  the  course  of  the  natural  history  of 
religion  many  elements  have  appeared  or  have 
been  adopted  which  tend  to  direct  the  stream  of 
the  mental  life  into  the  channel  of  prayer.  The 

1  Morris,  J.  G.:  Quaint  Sayings  and  Doings  of  Luther,  p.  131.  The  United 
Lutheran  Publishing  House. 


52 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


53 


reference  is  to  such  means  of  attracting  and  hold¬ 
ing  the  attention  as  the  isolation  of  the  individual 
or  the  presence  of  other  prayerful  persons,  the 
posture  of  the  body,  the  suspension  of  vision,,  motor 
automatism,  emotional  states,  prayer  repetitions, 
the  activity  of  the  will,  praying  at  night,  and 
mechanical  devices.  Let  us  now  see  how  these 
accessories  help  to  implant  the  material  of  prayer 
in  the  mind. 

Privacy  in  prayer. — The  very  expression'  “private 
prayer”  is  suggestive  of  the  isolation  of  the  person. 
Of  the  respondents  who  answered  the  question 
contained  in  the  questionnaire  on  prayer  circulated 
by  the  writer,  “Which  do  you  find  the  more  effec¬ 
tive:  public  prayer  by  either  the  minister  or  the 
congregation,  or  private  prayer?”  seventy  per  cent 
favored  private  prayer.  John  R.  Mott  says,  “In 
a  word,  secret  prayer  is  prayer  at  its  best.  It  is 
prayer  most  free  from  all  insincerity.  It  is  the 
true  gauge  of  our  prayer  life.”2  Jesus  both  taught 
and  practiced  privacy  in  prayer.  “But  thou,  when 
thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou 
hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is 
in  secret;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall 
reward  thee  openly.”3  “And  it  came  to  pass  in 
those  days,  that  he  went  out  into  a  mountain  to 
prayu  and  continued  all  night  in  prayer  to  God.”  4 
•U.  It  is  a  truism  that  the  isolation  of  the  individual 
guards  against  distractions.  Novel  impressions, 
strange  changes  in  the  environment,  and  inter¬ 
ruptions  by  others  attract  the  attention.  Alone 
and  free  from  social  restraints,  the  person  is  at 

2  The  Secret  Prayer  Life,  p.  5.  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

3  Matthew  6:  6. 

i  Luke  6:  12. 


54 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


liberty  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  the  unre¬ 
served  expression  of  religious  needs  and  desires. 
In  this  negative  way,  privacy  is  an  aid  to  prayer. 

Social  praying. — It  goes  without  saying  that 
prayer  offered  either  by  the  minister  in  the  pulpit 
or  by  the  congregation,  except  when  it  induces 
negative  suggestions,  exerts  a  stimulating  influence. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  pastoral  prayer  to  express 
common  wants  and  aspirations  of  the  congregation, 
to  reduce  all  minds  to  an  attitude  of  worship,  to 
induce  in  all  a  prayerful  mood.  The  ideal  pulpit 
prayer  reflects  the  sensitivity  of  its  maker  to  the 
religious  life  of  the  people,  arrests  the  attention 
of  the  indifferent,  finds  a  lodgment  in  their  minds, 
and  bears  the  fruit  of  peace  and  moral  power. 

The  prayer  meeting  and  other  social  forms  of 
religious  exercise  manifest  the  same  positive  tend¬ 
ency  to  induce  a  prayerful  response.  These  gather¬ 
ings  afford  the  laity  an  opportunity  to  offer  their 
common  supplications  for  the  edification  of  the 
saints,  the  conversion  of  the  sinful,  and  the  relief 
of  the  distressed.  It  is  self-evident  that  when  such 
a  variety  of  social  interactions  occurs,  the  prayer 
not  only  reacts  upon  its  author  but  also  impinges 
upon  other  minds.  The,  following  quotation  ad¬ 
mirably  expresses,  in  devotional  terminology,  the 
value  of  the  prayer  circle,  “Where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst  of  them.”5 

Physical  posture. — Having  found  some  secluded 
spot,  or  being  in  a  church  where  the  custom  is 
observed,  the  person  may  reverently  kneel  in  prayer. 
Many  seem  to  have  a  native  impulse  to  cast  them- 


5  Matthew  18:  20. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


55 


selves  at  the  feet  of  God  in  humble  submission,  or 
to  assume  another  bodily  attitude  which  has 
significance  for  the  prayer  life.  A  respondent  to 
a  questionnaire  sent  out  by  Dr.  F.  O.  Beck  says, 
“Frequently  walking  is  most  effective.  Kneeling  is 
probably  more  habitual  in  times  of  relaxing;  walk¬ 
ing,  when  any  intense  personal  problems  are  to  be 
worked  out.  In  morning,  sitting  or  walking  is 
perhaps  more  indulged  in;  at  evening,  kneeling.”* 6 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  various  and 
uncomfortable  positions  assumed  by  the  members 
of  the  Yoga  cult  of  India:  “The  right  foot  should 
be  placed  on  the  left  thigh,  and  the  left  foot  on 
the  right  thigh;  the  hands  should  be  crossed,  and 
the  two  great  toes  should  be  firmly  held  thereby; 
the  chin  should  be  bent  down  on  the  chest,  and  in 
this  posture  the  eyes  should  be  directed  to  the  tip 
of  the  nose.”7  This  position  is  called  Padmasana, 
lotus-seat,  and  is  highly  recommended  as  a  cure 
for  all  diseases.  The  student  of  hypnotism  can 
readily  understand  how  such  a  posture  combined 
with  restraints  of  breathing  produces  such  a  state 
of  abstraction  that  the  person  is  rendered  indif¬ 
ferent  to  pain  and  pleasure,  hunger  and  thirst,  cold 
and  heat.  It  is  an  extreme  method  of  self-hyp- 
notization. 

Forty  per  cent  of  the  respondents  to  our  ques¬ 
tionnaire  answered  the  following  question  in  the 
affirmative:  “Do  you  find  that  posture,  such  as 
kneeling,  etc.,  has  any  influence  on  your  state  of 
mind  in  prayer?”  The  following  statements  imply 

‘‘‘Prayer:  a  Study  in  its  History  and  Psychology,”  American  Journal  of  Re¬ 

ligious  Psychology  and  Education,  vol.  ii,  p.  117. 

7  Muller,  F.  Max:  Six  Systems  of  Indian  Philosophy,  p.  457.  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co. 


56  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


that  an  appreciation  of  the  incompleteness  of  the 
personal  life  induces  such  a  physical  attitude:  “It 
[kneeling]  is  a  sign  of  humility.”  “Whenever  I 
am  burdened  with  the  cares  of  life  I  feel  an  almost 
irresistible  desire  to  fall  upon  my  knees  in  prayer.” 

On  the  other  hand,  kneeling  may  be  suggestive 
of  a  want.  Who  has  not  been  impressed  by  the 
fact  that  whenever  he  has  had  occasion  to  kneel, 
be  the  situation  ever  so  foreign  to  prayer,  he  has 
invariably  been  reminded  of  prayer?  One  writes, 
“Kneeling  makes  one  more  earnest  in  prayer.” 
Kneeling  and  prayer  are  so  closely  associated  that 
the  one  tends  to  induce  the  other.  Many  religious 
leaders  understand  the  reaction  of  bodily  positions 
upon  the  mental  states;  hence  a  special  evangelistic 
appeal  is  frequently  followed  by  an  exhortation 
that  all  kneel  while  prayer  is  being  offered. 

Any  bodily  posture  which  has  become  habitually 
linked  with  a  particular  mental  activity,  naturally 
resists  any  proposed  departure  from  its  well-estab¬ 
lished  course.  When  a  position  other  than  the 
habitual  one  is  assumed,  doubts  as  to  its  propriety 
arise.  These  divert  the  attention  from  the  act  of 
prayer  to  the  bodily  posture.  To  say  that  posture 
is  a  matter  of  indifference  is  to  overlook  the  fact 
that  in  order  to  make  its  greatest  contribution  to 
the  prayer  life  the  bodily  attitude  should  be  ex¬ 
pressive  of  the  devotional  temper. 

Suspending  the  vision. — The  extent  of  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  closing  or  covering  the  eyes  in  prayer  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  seventy-five  per  cent 
of  the  answers  to  the  questionnaire  confess  that 
vision  is  suspended  during  prayer.  The  following 
typical  reasons  for  doing  so  seem  commonplace: 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


57 


“The  closing  of  the  eyes  shuts  out  distracting 
sights. ”  “To  concentrate  my  thoughts.”  It  is 
self-evident  that  an  interesting  environment  might 
provide  impressions  novel  enough  to  tempt  the 
attention.  The  practice  is  not  peculiar  to  prayer, 
for  we  often  see  persons  with  closed  eyes  engaged 
in  strenuous  mental  effort.  Possibly  the  down¬ 
cast  eyes  are  also  an  outward  sign  of  an  inward 
devotional  mood. 

It  is  well  known  that  moving  stimuli  fascinate 
the  attention.  During  the  early  stages  of  evolu¬ 
tion  movement  suggested  to  the  mind  of  primitive 
man  the  presence  of  either  benevolent  or  malev¬ 
olent  beings.  Hence  the  resulting  oscillation  between 
fear  and  desire  until  the  nature  of  the  stimulus 
could  be  determined.  Perhaps  it  is  a  heritage  from 
the  remote  past  that  makes  us  still  sensitive  to 
movement  occurring  even  in  familiar  or  monotonous 
environments.8  A  horse  will  start  suddenly  aside 
at  the  sight  of  a  flying  sheet  of  paper.  Although 
we  fail  to  notice  the  usual  and  familiar  distractions 
of  the  city  street,  how  quickly  we  attend  to  the 
advertisement  consisting  of  electric  lights  that 
come  and  go.  When  we  wish  to  attract  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  another  at  a  distance  we  reenforce  our  vocal 
efforts  with  suggestive  motions  of  the  arms.  The 
contribution  to  the  prayer  experience  of  the  simple 
expedient  of  suspended  vision  is  obvious. 

Automatic  movements. — When  the  person  is  en¬ 
gaged  in  the  act  of  prayer,  a  variety  of  physical 
activities  appear  of  which  he  is  unconscious  or  but 
vaguely  conscious.  The  reference  is  to  such  physical 
accompaniments  of  prayer  as  the  swaying  or  twist- 


8  See  Pillsbury,  W.  B.:  Attention,  p.  soft-  The  Macmillan  Company. 


58  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


ing  of  the  body,  the  clasping  or  clinching  of  the 
hands,  the  scratching  of  the  head  or  the  pulling  of 
the  hair,  the  closing  or  rolling  of  the  eyes,  the 
wrinkling  of  the  forehead  and  the  distorting  of  the 
face,  and  the  moving  of  the  lips,  jaws,  tongue,  head. 
Such  motor  phenomena  are  often  called  automatism. 
They  increase  in  number  with  the  seriousness  of 
the  mental  activity.  Professor  E.  H.  Lindley  de¬ 
tects  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  distinct 
automatisms  in  such  varieties  of  mental  effort  as 
serious  study,  attention,  and  difficult  recollection. 

Their  function  is  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  they 
are  “accessory  to  the  mechanism  of  attention.  In 
order  that  mental  activity  may  be  brought  to  its 
maximum,  and  kept  there  during  a  period  of  work, 
the  circulation  of  the  brain  must  be  rendered  ade¬ 
quate,  and  the  latent  energy  of  the  nerve-cells  must 
be  aroused.  To  aid  in  accomplishing  this,  many 
movements  have  appeared  in  the  race  and  in  the 
individual.  Their  sole  raison  d’etre  seems  to  be 
that  they  facilitate  the  work  of  the  brain.”8 9 

A  secondary  function  of  the  automatism  is  to 
provide  an  outlet  for  irrelevant  impressions  which 
may  be  courting  the  attention.  Impressions  foreign 
to  the  task  in  hand  may  be  discharged  through  the 
channels  opened  by  the  automatism.  At  first  the 
automatisms  aid  in  increasing  cerebral  excitation, 
under  which  favorable  condition  the  state  of  atten¬ 
tion  waxes  in  intensity.  The  nerve  paths  of  the 
automatism  likewise  become  a  way  of  escape  for 
all  currents  of  an  excitatory  and  intruding  nature 
which  are  excluded  from  the  brain  during  attention. 

8  Lindley,  E.  H.:  “Motor  Phenomena  of  Mental  Effort,”  American  Journal 

of  Psychology ,  vol.  vii,  p.  512. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


59 


Evidently,  the  automatisms  accompanying  prayer 
have  both  a  stimulating  and  a  conserving  effect. 
Heightening  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  thus 
setting  free  latent  nervous  energy,  they  are  instru¬ 
mental  in  generating  vitality  for  the  deepening  of 
the  prayer  life.  Supporting  the  mechanism  of 
attention,  they  help  to  impose  the  prayer  upon 
the  mind.  Then  they  tend  to  conserve  the  energy 
which  they  have  released.  Extraneous  impressions 
which  solicit  the  attention,  following  the  line  of  least 
resistance,  find  expression  through  the  functional 
avenues  opened  by  the  automatism.  We  shall  have 
abundant  occasion  to  make  further  reference  to 
this  unique  mental  process  when  we  consider  the 
repetition  of  prayer  and  the  rosary. 

Emotion. — The  devotional  state  is  essentially 
emotional.  Effort  of  the  will  fortified  by  reason 
may  initiate  a  prayer,  but  more  often  it  is  the 
emotions  that  give  rise  to  prayer  and  determine 
the  activity  of  the  will.  The  intense  prayer  expe¬ 
rience  is  charged  with  a  high  potential  of  emo¬ 
tion.  Situations  or  predicaments  which  evoke  such 
emotions  as  fear,  love,  exaltation,  guilt,  doubt, 
anxiety,  gratitude  are  pregnant  with  prayer  possi¬ 
bilities.  / 

y  w 

It  is  the  emotions  which  tend  to  sweep  one  from 
one’s  rational  feet  and  to  prostrate  the  self  before 
a  higher  power.  Religion  is  the  refuge  of  the  emo¬ 
tion-tossed;  devotional  literature  encourages  prayer 
in  critical  situations.  “And  call  upon  me  in  the  day 
of  trouble:  I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify 
me,”10  is  the  invitation  of  the  psalmist  speaking  in 
Jehovah’s  stead.  The  value  of  x  the  emotional 

5 


10  Psalm  so:  15. 


6o 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


states  for  the  prayer  life  is  admirably  expressed  in 
the  following  quotation  taken  from  a  devotional 
study:  “Devotion  should  spring  up  spontaneously 
from  an  emotive  state.  .  .  .  Christians,  whose  lives, 
in  other  respects,  are  not  visibly  defective  .  .  .  have 
no  deep  subsoil  of  feeling  from  which  prayer  would 
be  a  natural  growth.  .  .  .  Our  theory  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  life  is  that  of  a  clear,  erect,  inflexible  head,  not 
of  a  great  heart  in  which  deep  calleth  unto  deep.”11 

When  the  emotions  control  the  personality,  judg¬ 
ment  and  reason  are  held  in  abeyance,  and  the 
person  is  in  a  condition  of  extreme  suggestibility. 
Emotions  tend  to  narrow  the  field  of  consciousness. 
Corrective  elements  and  wider  considerations  are 
ignored  when  an  intense  emotion  dominates  the 
self.  Fear  of  an  unpleasant  experience  often  brings 
about  the  dreaded  occurrence.  Fear  of  failure  has 
too  often  paralyzed  the  efforts  of  conscientious  and 
capable  students  in  examination.  When  one  is  in 
the  grip  of  fear’s  antipode,  love,  the  confidence  and 
assurance  which  this  emotion  begets  renders  the 
personality  amenable  to  glorified  conceptions  of 
the  object  of  affection.  It  is  common  for  a  lover 
to  be  so  obsessed  of  his  passion  that  he  is  rendered 
indifferent  to  other  matters  of  importance. 

It  is  clear  that  when  the  emotion  is  connected 
with  the  religious  life  the  state  is  auspicious  for 
the  introduction  of  prayer  ideas  into  the  mind. 
The  dangers  attending  an  excess  of  religious  emo¬ 
tion  are  too  well  known  to  require  mention  here. 
From  this  standpoint  emotions  evoke  prayers,  but 
it  is  equally  true  that  prayers  themselves  in  many 
cases  arouse  the  emotions.  There  is,  in  fact,  an 


11  Phelps,  A.;  The  StiU  Hour,  p.  58.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


61 


interaction  between  the  emotive  states  and  the 
prayer  ideas  and  ideals,  the  one  stimulating  the 
other.  In  a  following  discussion  the  part  which 
prayer  plays  in  inducing  the  emotions  will  receive 
attention. 

Oral  praying. — The  vocalization  of  the  prayer  is  1 
itself  a  means  of  attracting  and  holding  the  atten¬ 
tion.  Saint  Teresa  says  that  the  first  step  in  a 
graduated  series  of  religious  exercises  ending  in 
ecstasy  is  the  articulation  of  the  prayer.  Ribot 
maintains  that  the  vocalization  of  the  prayer  leads 
“the  dispersed  consciousness  into  a  single  confined 
channel.”12  Experience  teaches  that  the  habit  of 
reading  not  merely  with  the  eye,  but  of  actually 
articulating  the  words  seen  deepens  the  attention 
to  the  contents  of  the  printed  page.  Speech  is  the  ’Si- 
organ  of  reason.  A  spoken  dream  is  likely  to  be 
more  connected  than  the  one  not  articulated.  It 
is  conceivable  that  the  constitution  of  some  minds 
is  such  that  failure  to  clothe  the  prayer  in  words 
as  soon  as  it  arises  in  consciousness  nullifies  .  the 
devotional  attitude. 

Shifting  of  attention. — During  an  act  of  prayer, 
the  object  of  interest  or  of  desire  must  be  considered 
from  various  points  of  view.  Otherwise,  attention 
will  wander  elsewhere.  There  can  be  no  sustained 
attention  to  anything  unless  different  aspects  and 
relations  are  taken  into  account  in  rapid  succession. 
Attention  can  be  held  strictly  to  a  simple  and  single 
thing  for  less  than  a  second.  Doubtless  the  laws 
of  association  determine  the  angles  from  which  the 
circumstances  giving  rise  to  prayer  are  viewed,  for 

12  Ribot,  T.:  The  Psychology  of  Attention,  p.  92.  The  Open  Court  Publishing 
Company. 


62 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


the  consideration  of  one  detail  of  a  subject  naturally 
leads  to  that  of  another.  As  the  attention  flits 
from  one  aspect  of  prayer  to  another,  the  emotions 
are  aroused.  “One  may  get  angrier  in  thinking 
over  one’s  insult  than  at  the  moment  of  receiving 
it.”13  Viewing  the  insult  from  various  sides  may 
reveal  the  offensive  character  of  the  affront  and 
arouse  a  veritable  storm  of  emotion.  Likewise, 
with  each  consideration  of  the  incomplete  self 
from  a  fresh  standpoint,  the  prayer  experience 
waxes  in  emotional  intensity.  In  this  way,  prayer, 
begun  with  but  a  feeble  emotional  accompaniment, 
begets  a  rich  emotional  excitation.  We  have  already 
seen  that  emotional  states  as  a  rule  control  the 
attention.  Ribot  insists  that  “at  the  root  of  atten¬ 
tion  we  find  only  emotional  states.”14 

The  law  of  inertia. — Now,  when  once  the  mech¬ 
anism  of  attention  is  accommodated  to  any  stimu1 
lus,  it  offers  a  certain  resistance  to  an  impression 
calling  for  a  fresh  adjustment.  Change  of 
occupation  means  a  corresponding  adjustment  of 
the  physical  mechanism  to  be  employed.  For  this 
reason  a  diligent  student  at  work  may  find  himself 
loath  to  interrupt  his  studies.  The  resistance  of 
the  adjusted  mechanism  to  change  is  known  as  the 
law  of  inertia.  Applying  this  principle  to  the  devo¬ 
tional  life,  we  can  readily  see  that  when  the 
mechanism  of  attention  has  been  adjusted  to  the 
prayer  experience,  the  person,  following  the  line  of 
least  resistance,  may  feel  a  tendency  to  repeat  the 


13  James,  Principles  of  Psychology,  vol.  ii,  p.  443.  Henry  Holt  &  Co.  To 
be  sure,  the  contrary  is  often  true:  a  calm  consideration  of  an  insult  may  con¬ 
vince  one  that  in  view  of  its  inconsequential  source  it  is  really  beneath  one’s 
dignity. 

14  The  Psychology  of  Attention,  p.  35.  The  Open  Court  Publishing  Company. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


63 


petition  rather  than  to  discontinue  it  and  engage 
in  some  other  activity.  To  turn  the  attention  to 
another  thing  would,  under  religious  pressure  and 
no  special  distractions,  necessitate  a  decided  effort. 

The  turning  of  the  prayer  into  a  definite  channel 
opened  by  articulation,  the  frequent  change  in  the 
point  of  view  by  which  attention  is  held  and  emo¬ 
tions  aroused,  the  making  of  automatic  movements 
generating  energy  and  releasing  distractions,  the 
warding-off  of  foreign  impressions  by  the  adjusted 
psycho-physical  mechanism,  have  a  collective  and 
cumulative  effect  which  is  positively  significant  for 
the  reiteration  of  the  prayer  and  its  impression 
upon  the  mind.  Like  the  little  snowball  rolling 
down  the  mountainside  and  gathering  volume  and 
force  until  it  becomes  the  mighty  avalanche,  the 
prayer  born  of  a  feeble  appreciation  of  incomplete¬ 
ness  and  repeating  itself  may  become  an  experience 
so  intense  that  all  competitors  for  the  attention 
are  driven  from  the  field,  and  it,  alone,  dominates 
the  personality. 

Praying  at  night. — If  a  summons  of  the  will  be 
a  difficult  method  of  impressing  the  mind  with 
prayer  material,  the  widespread  habit  of  praying 
at  night  just  before  retiring  is  perhaps  the  easiest 
way  in  which  petitions  may  be  introduced  into 
consciousness.  A  state  of  high  suggestibility  is 
induced  by  approaching  sleep.  When  an  individual 
feels  inclined  to  sleep,  his  mind  is  unusually  sensitive 
and  responsive  to  suggestion.  When  one  is  drowsy 
and  ready  to  retire,  the  mind  is  at  least  partially 
freed  from  the  criteria  of  the  material  world.  The 
critical  and  corrective  powers  are  held  in  abeyance. 
Any  reference  to  objective  standards  becomes  in- 


64 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


creasingly  difficult.  Educators  are  recommending 
the  giving  of  suggestions  to  children  at  bedtime  in 
order  to  correct  mental  and  moral  defects.  During 
the  daytime,  especially  during  the  morning  when 
the  mind  is  alert,  the  waking  consciousness  acts 
as  censor  of  the  ideas  that  come  to  its  notice,  often 
rejecting  and  combating  what  would  have  been 
accepted  at  night.  Apart  from  the  high  degree  of 
suggestibility  which  obtains  at  bedtime,  the  privacy 
of  one’s  room,  and  the  opportunity  to  assume  the 
habitual  devotional  posture  and  to  continue  the 
prayer  at  will,  are  elements  which  conspire  to  hold 
the  prayer  in  mental  focus. 

The  rosary. — Of  all  mechanical  devices  designed 
to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  prayer  life  none 
is  more  unique  or  important  than  the  rosary.  Al¬ 
though  Buddhists  and  Mohammedans  have  adopted 
this  devotional  mechanism,  it  is  found  in  its  most 
highly  developed  form  among  Roman  Catholics. 
It  will  therefore  suffice  to  note  the  history,  use, 
and  psychological  value  of  the  Catholic  rosary. 

On  Roman  Catholic  authority  it  is  alleged  that 
in  the  period  of  religious  indifference  which  obtained 
in  France  during  the  thirteenth  century  the  Virgin 
appeared  in  a  vision  to  Saint  Dominic,  a  Spaniard, 
with  a  rosary  in  her  hand.  She  instructed  him  in 
the  use  of  this  device  and  enjoined  upon  him  the 
mission  of  preaching  it  as  a  means  of  spiritual 
revival.  Arriving  at  Toulouse  for  the  purpose  of 
proclaiming  the  new  devotion,  he  found  that  in 
response  to  a  mysterious  summons  the  people  had 
already  assembled  in  the  church.  At  first  his 
preachment  fell  upon  unheeding  ears,  but  when  a 
violent  storm  arose  with  flashes  of  lightning  and 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


65 


crashes  of  thunder,  and  the  statue  of  the  Virgin 
began  to  move,  even  pointing  to  heaven  and  to  the 
preacher,  the  obdurate  people  were  touched,  and 
casting  themselves  at  the  feet  of  Saint  Dominic, 
they  announced  their  acceptance  of  the  rosary. 
The  faithful  followers  of  Saint  Dominic  carried  the 
rosary  into  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  it  was 
quite  generally  adopted.  It  is  affirmed  that  its 
general  adoption  was  followed  by  a  widespread 
religious  awakening,  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
souls  in  France  alone  returning  to  the  fold  of  the 
church. 

This  •  account  of  the  miraculous  origin  of  the 
rosary  is,  of  course,  purely  legendary.  Careful 
students  of  rites  and  religious  practices,  like  Tylor, 
affirm  that  it  is  an  Asiatic  invention,  having  its 
special  development,  if  not  its  origin,  among  the 
ancient  Buddhists.  Among  the  modern  Buddhists, 
its  one  hundred  and  eight  balls  still  measure  out 
the  sacred  formulas,  the  reiteration  of  which  con¬ 
sumes  the  major  part  of  a  pious  life.  Toward  the 
Middle  Ages  the  rosary  found  its  way  into  Chris¬ 
tian  and  Mohammedan  lands  where,  adapting  itself 
to  existing  conceptions  of  prayer,  it  has  flourished 
ever  since.15  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  grants 
indulgences  proportionate  to  the  faithfulness  of  her 
adherents  in  the  use  of  the  rosary. 

The  use  of  the  rosary  consists  of  a  union  of  vocal 
and  mental  prayers.  The  entire  rosary  is  composed 
of  fifteen  decades  of  Hail  Marys  to  be  orally  recited, 
each  decade  or  group  of  ten  Aves,  being  preceded 
by  a  Pater  Noster  and  followed  by  a  Gloria,  and 


15  See  Tylor,  E.  B.:  Primitive  Culture,  vol.  ii.,  p.  37 2.  Henry  Holt  &  Co. 


66 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


accompanied  by  the  meditation  of  a  “mystery.” 
Five  decades  constitute  a  chaplet.  During  the 
recitation  of  each  chaplet  a  group  of  five  “mys¬ 
teries”  from  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  Virgin  is 
meditated.  Corresponding  to  the  number  of  chap¬ 
lets,  there  are  three  groups  of  “mysteries”  of  five 
each:  the  Joyful  Mysteries,  the  Sorrowful  Mys¬ 
teries,  the  Glorious  Mysteries.  The  Annunciation, 
the  Visitation,  the  Birth,  the  Presentation,  the  Find¬ 
ing  in  the  Temple,  compose  the  first  group  and  are 
called  the  Joyful  Mysteries.  The  Agony  in  the 
Garden,  the  Scourging,  the  Crowning  wdth  Thorns, 
the  Carrying  of  the  Cross,  the  Crucifixion,  make 
up  the  second  group,  the  Sorrowful  Mysteries.  The 
Resurrection,  the  Ascension,  the  Coming  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Assumption,  the  Coronation  of 
the  Virgin,  comprise  the  third  series  known  as  the 
Glorious  Mysteries.  The  contemplation  of  a 
“mystery”  is  undertaken  in  connection  with  the 
vocalization  of  a  Pater  Noster,  ten  Hail  Marys, 
and  the  Gloria. 

Let  us  observe  a  devotee  at  church.  The  win¬ 
dows  with  their  masterpieces  of  sacred  art,  the 
statuary  of  Jesus,  the  Virgin  and  the  saints,  the 
soft  and  restful  light  of  the  candles,  the  chanting 
and  droning  of  the  officiating  priests,  the  odor  of 
incense,16  the  genuflections  and  responses  of  the 
worshiping  congregation,  all  tend  to  create  within 
him  a  devotional  mood.  On  bended  knee  the 
prayers  of  the  rosary  are  begun.  Let  us  assume 


16  The  power  of  odor  to  stimulate  the  associations,  the  imagination  and  mem¬ 
ory  is  without  a  peer.  When  Esther,  tne  heroine  of  The  Children  of  the  Ghetto 
(The  Macmillan  Company,  by  Zangwill,  I.),  returns  to  her  old  home  after  an 
absence  of  several  years,  “the  unchanging  musty  smells  that  clung  to  the  stair¬ 
case  flew  to  greet  her  nostrils,  and  at  once  a  host  of  sleeping  memories  started  to 
life,  besieging  her  and  pressing  upon  her  on  every  side.” 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


67 


that  while  the  automatic  oral  repetition  of  the 
stereotyped  prayers  occurs,  the  Scourging  at  the 
Pillar  is  the  “mystery”  meditated.  “The  memory 
presents  a  large  hall  full  of  rude  soldiers,  who  drag 
in  a  poor  prisoner,  pull  off  his  garments,  bind  Him 
to  a  pillar,  and  there  tear  off  the  flesh  from  His 
bones  until  His  body  is  all  raw  and  covered  with 
wounds  and  His  blood  streaming  over  the  floor. 
Next  the  understanding  considers  who  this  prisoner 
is:  the  adorable  Son  of  the  Most  High  God,  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  Life.  And  why  does  He  suffer? 
For  miserable  sinners:  for  us  ungrateful  men:  for 
those  who  are  scourging  Him.  Now  the  will  is 
influenced  to  make  acts  of  compassion,  love,  adora¬ 
tion,  thanksgiving,  petition,  etc.”17 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  discussion  of  the 
motor  accompaniments  of  mental  effort  the  psy¬ 
chological  value  of  the  rosary  is  obvious.  Like  all 
automatism,  the  automatic  recitation  of  the  rosary 
arouses  mental  activity  and  provides  an  outlet  for 
distracting  impressions.  Furthermore,  the  oral 
prayers  of  the  rosary  are  gentle  reminders  of  the 
religious  life.  The  associations  clustered  about 
them  are  of  such  an  intimate  and  sacred  nature 
that  the  suppliant  cannot  but  respond  to  their 
subtle  influence. 

The  result  would  by  no  means  be  the  same  if 
for  the  Aves,  the  Pater  Nosters,  and  the  Glorias 
a  substitution  without  religious  significance  were  at¬ 
tempted — say  a  group  of  nonsense  syllables,  the 
alphabet  and  a  mother-goose  rime.  Such  a  mean¬ 
ingless  procedure  would  rob  the  exercise  of  its 
appropriate  suggestiveness.  It  would  be  difficult,  if 


17  Dominican  Father,  The  Rosary,  p.  41.  Benziger  Bros. 


68 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


not  utterly  impossible,  to  meditate  a  “mystery” 
to  such  an  incongruous  accompaniment.  As  it  is, 
the  rosary,  when  properly  employed,  may  be  an 
admirable  device  for  attracting  and  holding  the 
attention  to  the  prayer  life.  The  contemplation  of 
the  “mysteries”  gives  rise  to  mental  pictures  out 
of  which  there  may  be  constructed  prayers  ex¬ 
pressive  of  personal  needs  and  devotion  to  God. 
Its  stimulative  value  has  made  the  rosary  an  almost 
indispensable  devotion  of  the  religious  recluse  whose 
life  is  too  uneventful  to  make  petitional  prayer 
spontaneous.  Its  misuse  will  be  considered  under 
the  head  of  “vain  repetitions”  in  a  chapter  deal¬ 
ing  with  unanswered  petitions. 

The  will. — According  to  devotional  treatises,  it 
sometimes  requires  the  exercise  of  the  will  to  bring 
the  faculties  to  bear  upon  prayer.  This  may  be 
true  when  the  course  of  life  is  unbroken  by  crises 
of  religious  value,  which  naturally  engender  prayer, 
and  the  offering  of  prayer  is  conscientiously  con¬ 
sidered  a  duty  to  be  sacredly  discharged  or  a  priv¬ 
ilege  not  to  be  lightly  esteemed.  In  such  a  case 
attention  to  prayer  is  voluntary;  an  effort  is  made 
to  concentrate  the  mind.  The  voluntary  over¬ 
coming  of  the  capricious  wandering  of  the  atten¬ 
tion  seems  to  impart  to  the  mind  such  a  powerful 
stimulus  that  a  generous  amount  of  energy  is  set 
free  for  the  making  of  a  prayer.  Who  has  not 
by  an  act  of  the  will  turned  his  attention  away 
from  the  distractions  incident  to  travel  by  rail, 
and  focused  it  upon  his  book  in  the  reading  of  which 
he  was  soon  absorbed? 

Concerning  wandering  thoughts  and  how  to  recall 
them,  Brother  Lawrence  has  the  following  to  say: 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


69 


“Our  mind  is  extremely  roving;  but,  as  the  will 
is  the  mistress  of  all  our  faculties,  she  must  recall 
them,  and  carry  them  to  God  as  their  last  end. 
When  the  mind  for  want  of  being  sufficiently  reduced 
by  recollection  at  our  first  engaging  in  devotion, 
has  contracted  certain  bad  habits  of  wandering 
and  dissipation,  they  are  difficult  to  overcome,  and 
commonly  draw  us,  even  against  our  wills,  to  the 
things  of  the  earth.  I  believe  one  remedy  for  this 
is  to  confess  our  faults  and  to  humble  ourselves 
before  God.  I  do  not  advise  you  to  use  multiplicity 
of  words  in  prayer,  many  words  and  long  discourses 
being  often  the  occasion  of  wandering.  Hold  your¬ 
self  in  prayer  before  God  like  a  dumb  or  paralytic 
beggar  at  a  rich  man’s  gate.  Let  it  be  your  business 
to  keep  your  mind  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
If  it  sometimes  wanders  and  withdraws  itself  from 
him,  do  not  much  disquiet  yourself  for  that:  trouble 
and  disquiet  serve  rather  to  distract  the  mind  than 
to  recollect  it;  the  will  must  bring  it  back  in  tran¬ 
quillity.”18 

THE  FUNCTION  AND  NATURE  OF  ATTENTION 

In  making  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  facts 
which  conspire  to  restrict  the  field  of  consciousness 
to  the  act  of  prayer  only  incidental  reference  has 
been  made  to  the  purpose  and  character  of  atten¬ 
tion.  Why  not  let  the  attention  wander  where  it 
may  in  our  devotional  life?  What  is  the  nature  of 
attention?  The  answering  of  these  questions  will 
disclose  both  the  importance  of  lodging  the  prayer 
in  the  mind  and  an  elemental  activity  of  the  will. 

18  Brother  Lawrence:  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God,  p.  35.  American 
Baptist  Publishing  Society. 


70 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


The  function  of  attention  in  prayer. — Since  it  is 
impossible  consciously  to  react  to  all  impressions 
made  upon  us,  we  are  compelled  to  make  a  selec¬ 
tion.  Attention  is  the  selective  process  which  makes 
some  things  prominent  and  neglects  others.  Atten¬ 
tion  is  not  creative;  it  does  not  call  ideas  into 
existence.  It  merely  sifts  the  ideas  already  present 
in  the  mind.  Their  presence  is  determined  by  the 
operation  of  the  laws  of  association,  according  to 
which  contrasting  ideas  such  as  day  and  night 
exhibit  a  readiness  to  recall  one  another,  as  do 
similar  ideas  such  as  water  and  pond,  and  ideas 
connected  with  the  same  time  or  place.  Attention 
is  prompted  by  interest.  We  select  for  scrutiny 
and  deliberate  expression  those  ideas  which  we 
consider  of  importance.  The  consequence  of  atten¬ 
tion  is  interpretation  and  meaning.  Interest  arouses 
attention,  attention  results  in  the  understanding 
and  appreciation  of  an  idea  and  indicates  lines  of 
activity. 

Attention  to  prayer  is  born  of  religious  interest. 
The  prayer  occupies  the  focal  point  of  conscious¬ 
ness  because  it  is  at  the  time  of  more  importance 
to  the  petitioner  than  its  competitors  for  recogni¬ 
tion.  Attention  does  not  originate  the  petition, 
but,  impelled  by  religious  concern,  it  makes  prayer 
prominent  and  ignores  matters  of  lesser  consequence. 
As  a  result,  the  religious  need  is  defined,  clarified, 
and  formulated.  The  petition  becomes  vivid  and 
urgent,  dominant  and  preeminent,  and  generates  an 
emotional  tone  which  intensifies  the  desire  for  reli¬ 
gious  satisfaction. 

Voluntary  attention. — The  element  of  self-deter¬ 
mination  may  be  detected  in  voluntary  attention. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


7 1 


Heredity  and  environment  cannot  explain  away 
the  strain  of  free  will  manifested  in  the  effort  to 
restrict  or  otherwise  control  the  field  of  conscious¬ 
ness.  Voluntary  attention  is  elemental,  it  cannot 
be  reduced  to  other  and  lower  terms.  To  quote 
the  ever-poignant  James,  “Effort  of  attention  is 
thus  the  essential  phenomenon  of  will.”19  Another 
writer  has  a  word  to  the  point:  “The  will  reveals 
itself  most  directly  in  attention.  It  is  often  said 
sweepingly  that  a  m%n’s  environment  makes  him. 
Not  to  insist  upon  the  obvious  fact  that  there  must 
be  a  germ  with  a  certain  nature  in  order  that  any 
environment  may  work  its  effect,  it  is  particularly 
important  to  notice  in  the  case  of  man  that  not 
his  entire  environment,  but  only  that  part  of  his 
environment  to  which  he  attends  really  makes 
him.”20  * 

Man  has  the  innate  power  to  attend  or  not  to 
attend  to  prayer  ideas.  Without  attention,  the  laws 
governing  prayer  cannot  operate.  Professor  B.  P. 
Bowne  has  well  said:  “Human  purpose  and  volition 
are  perpetually  playing  into  the  system  of  law,  there¬ 
by  realizing  a  multitude  of  effects  which  the  system, 
left  to  itself,  would  never  produce,  yet  in  such  a 
way  that  no  law  is  broken.  Natural  law  of  itself 
would  never  do  any  of  the  things  which  men  are 
doing  by  means  of  it.  The  work  of  the  world  is 
done  by  natural  forces  under  human  guidance. 
It  is  the  outcome  at  once  of  law  and  purpose.”21 

Choice  involves  the  presence  of  two  or  more  ideas 
in  the  mind,  and  the  focusing  of  the  attention 

19  James,  William:  Principles  of  Psychology,  vol.  ii,  p.  562.  Henry  Holt 
&  Co. 

20  King,  H.  C.:  Rational  Living,  p.  159.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

21  Bowne,  B.  P.:  The  Essence  of  Religion,  p.  136.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


72 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


upon  one  of  them.  When  man  by  an  act  of  his 
own  volition  attends  to  certain  objects  of  prayer, 
the  realization  of  which  affects  himself  and  others, 
he  is  exercising  his  power  of  self-determination. 
The  extent  of  his  initiative  and  creativeness  de¬ 
pends  upon  the  number  of  associations  whichT  he 
possesses.  The  range  of  ideas  from  which  a  selec¬ 
tion  is  possible  is  the  measure  of  freedom*  The 
highest  form  of  will  is  revealed  in  attention  to  an 
idea,  the  acceptance  of  which  fs  urged  by  conscience 
in  the  face  of  an  opposing  current  public  opinion.  y 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  an  act  of  the  will  may 
apply  the  principles  which  underlie  prayer,  it  is 
puerile  to  raise  the  questions:  Why  must  we  pray 
at  all?  If  a  divine  Intelligence  broods  over  us  and 
knows  our  every  want  long  before  we  can  formulate 
it,  of  what  use  is  prayer?  Prayer  is  not  a  dumb¬ 
waiter  bringing  down  from  heaven  gifts  ready¬ 
made  for  those  who  are  too  indolent  to  exert  them¬ 
selves.  It  would  be  no  more  irrational  to  expect  to 
reap  a  harvest  without  sowing  or  to  live  without  eating 
than  it  would  be  to  demand  that  God  grant  religious 
enthusiasm  and  moral  poiver  to  an  inactive  and  passive 
personality.  Man  is,  then,  morally  responsible 
because,  on  his  own  initiative,  he  may  make  operative 
the  laws  which  determine  his  character. 

SUMMARY 

Religion  makes  use  of  many  accessories  to  and 
principles  of  attention  in  order  to  give  prayer  a 
safe  lodgment  in  the  mind.  The  isolation  of  the 
person  offers  a  possibility  of  uninterrupted  and 
unrestricted  self-expression.  Social  prayer  affects 
and  is  affected  by  the  devotional  attitude  of  others. 


ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 


73 


Posture,  such  as  kneeling,  is  not  merely  the  attitude 
of  a  suppliant  and  the  outward  ,  sign  of  reverence. 
It  has  a  reflex  influence  on  prayer.  The  closing  or 
covering  of  the  eyes  excludes  distractions.  The 
automatic  movements  accompanying  prayer  in¬ 
crease  the  flow  of  blood  to  the  brain,  which  releases 
energy,  and  their  functional  paths  form  channels 
of  discharge  for  irrelevant  impressions.  As  a  rule, 
prayer  has  its  genesis  in  an  emotional  state,  and 
emotions  render  the  personality  highly  suggestible. 
Oral  prayer  gives  consciousness  a  definite  direction. 
Automatic  movements  heighten  the  processes  of 
respiration  and  circulation.  They  generate  energy. 
Shifting  from  part  to  part,  the  attention  is  held  to 
the  prayer  and  emotion  is  aroused.  Prayer  tends  to 
continue  itself  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  inertia. 
At  bedtime  when  reference  to  objective  criteria  is 
difficult  and  the  mind  is  thrown  upon  its  own  inner 
resources,  the  acceptance  of  prayer  ideas  is  highly 
probable.  Although  the  emotions  generally  prompt 
prayer,  it  sometimes  occurs  that  voluntary  attention 
restricts  the  field  of  consciousness  to  the  act  of 
prayer.  The  rosary  is  a  mechanical  exercise  arous¬ 
ing  mental  images  of  religious  importance  out  of 
which  prayers  may  be  constructed.  All  of  these 
elements,  and  many  more,  tend  to  hold  in  mental 
focus  the  idea  for  the  realization  of  which  prayer 
is  made.  A  summary  suggests  their  cumulative 
effect. 

The  purpose  of  the  process  of  attention  in  prayer 
is  to  select  from  the  resources  which  experience  has 
placed  at  our  disposal,  those  ideas  the  expression 
of  which  can  best  minister  to  the  existing  pressure. 
It  also  makes  these  ideas  clear  and  compelling. 


74 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Voluntary  attention  displays  an  elemental  effort 
of  will,  the  range  of  which  is  conditioned  by  the 
number  of  available  ideas  which  one  has.  The 
voluntaristic  strain  in  attention  renders  us  morally 
responsible  and  creative. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 

Professor  Munsterberg  has  well  said  that 
suggestion  is  more  than  the  mere  turning  of  the 
attention  to  one  idea  and  away  from  another,  that 
it  is  characterized  by  faith.1  Among  the  author¬ 
ities  on  suggestion  there  is  no  dissent  from  the 
opinion  that  a  fundamental  requirement  of  effective 
suggestion  is  a  lively  conviction  that  the  idea  held 
in  mind  will  be  realized.  Now  prayer  also  is  more 
than  the  mere  turning  of  the  attention  to  one  idea 
and  away  from  another.  It,  too,  is  characterized 
by  faith.  Nothing  could  be  more  indisputable 
than  that  belief  looms  up  large  in  the  answering 
of  prayer.  On  the  one  hand,  the  psychologist  is 
certain  that  a  suggested  idea  depends  largely  upon 
faith  for  its  realization;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
religious  self  is  equally  positive  that  without  belief 
there  can  be  no  answer  to  prayer.  In  both  sugges¬ 
tion  and  prayer  an  ideal  cannot  be  realized  unless  a 
preliminary  faith  in  its  realization  is  exercised. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  place  of  faith  in  prayer 
it  will  be  necessary  to  isolate  it,  to  consider  the 
factors  which  promote  its  rise  and  growth,  and  to 
discuss  its  nature  and  function. 

FACTS  WHICH  INSPIRE  FAITH 

Just  as  there  are  various  factors  which,  when 
understood,  tend  to  make  prayer  intelligible,  so 

1  Munsterberg,  Hugo:  Psychotherapy,  p.  ioo.  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co. 

75 


y6  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


also  there  are  discoverable  many  elements  which 
suggest  the  nature  of  faith.  Belief  is  doubtless 
affected  by  such  factors  as  religious  environment, 
devotional  literature,  positive  testimonies  of  others, 
memories  of  answered  prayers,  favorable  interpre¬ 
tations  of  unanswered  petitions,  the  ignoring  of 
negative  cases,  the  acceptance  of  coincident  in¬ 
stances,  the  repetition  of  prayer. 

Before  these  items  are  examined  a  little  more 
closely,  it  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  no  sharp  line  of  demarkation  can  be  drawn 
between  the  elements  which  influence  attention  in 
prayer  and  those  which  promote  belief.  The  two 
sets  of  influences  interact.  Faith  promotes  atten¬ 
tion,  and  attention,  faith.  Isolation,  social  praying, 
posture,  suspension  of  vision,  motor  automatism, 
emotional  states,  oral  expression,  change  in  object 
of  attention,  the  law  of  inertia,  repetition,  devotions 
at  night,  mechanical  devices,  and  volition  all  tend 
to  engender  faith  by  making  the  prayer  prominent 
in  the  mind  and  excluding  unfriendly  ideas.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  involuntarily  attend  to  that 
which  we  believe. 

Religious  environment. — It  goes  without  saying 
that  the  religious  atmosphere  into  which  one  is 
born  and  the  early  impressions  which  one  receives 
are  influential  factors  in  determining  the  kind  and 
degree  of  faith  exercised  in  prayer.  One  may  be 
a  firm  disbeliever  in  prayer  because  one  has  been 
reared  by  skeptical  parents.  The  type  of  religious 
education  received  cannot  fail  to  color  faith.  If 
the  child  is  taught  conceptions  of  prayer  which 
stand  the  test  of  experience,  his  religious  faith  is 
confirmed  and  established  when  he  develops  an 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


77 


analytical  attitude  through  contact  with  discrim¬ 
inating  minds. 

Devotional  literature. — For  many  persons  devo¬ 
tional  literature  is  authoritative  and  consequently  a 
stimulus  to  the  faith  state.  The  teaching  of  Jesus 
concerning  prayer,  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  New 
Testament,  is  significantly  influential.  “And  all 
things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
ye  shall  receive. ”2  “What  things  soever  ye  desire, 
when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them.”3  Such  an  emphasis  on  faith  as 
the  condition  of  answered  prayer,  coming  as  it  does 
from  the  lips  of  the  One  to  whom  we  accord  supreme 
religious  leadership,  cannot  fail  to  increase  the 
faith  of  millions. 

Statements  like  the  following,  taken  from  the 
literature  of  devotion,  tend  to  confirm  the  bibli¬ 
cal  promise  that  faith  shall  see  its  reward:  “Where 
there  is  true  faith,  it  is  impossible  but  the  answer 
must  come.”4  “There  is  no  personal  duty  more 
positive  or  more  unqualified  than  the  duty  of 
faith.”5  “How  many  prayers  are  hindered  by  our 
wretched  unbelief!  We  go  to  God  and  ask  him  for 
something  that  is  positively  promised  in  his  Word, 
and  then  we  do  not  more  than  half  expect  to  get 
it.”6  “An  astronomer  does  not  turn  his  telescope 
to  the  skies  with  a  more  reasonable  hope  of  pen¬ 
etrating  those  distant  heavens,  than  I  have  of 
reaching  the  mind  of  God,  by  lifting  up  my  heart 


2  Matthew  21:  22. 

3  Mark  11:  24. 

4  Murray,  A.:  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  p.  78.  Fleming  H.  Revell 

Company. 

6  Trumbull,  H.  C.:  Prayer,  Its  Nature  and  Scope,  p.  69.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company. 

6  Torrev,  R.  A.:  How  to  Pray,  p.  90.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


78  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


at  the  throne  of  grace.’’7  Prayer  literature  fairly 
teems  with  like  affirmations  of  the  value  of  believ¬ 
ing  prayer.  Line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  pre¬ 
cept,  here  a  little  and  there  much,  exhort  the  reader 
to  have  a  faith  which  knows  no  shadow  of  doubt. 
In  fact,  unbelief  is  the  most  frequent  explanation 
of  unanswered  prayer. 

Testimonies  of  others. — Closely  allied  to  the 
influence  of  religious  literature,  is  the  testimony 
of  those  who  have  received  direct  answers  to  prayer. 
Faith  is  contagious.  The  definite  and  positive 
experiences  of  others,  whose  accounts  are  reliable, 
cannot  fail  to  encourage  one  to  make  similar  venture 
of  faith.  The  more  highly  suggestible  one  is,  the 
more  likely  one  is  to  accept  the  testimony  of  an¬ 
other  and  to  regulate  conduct  thereby.  The  com¬ 
mercial  wisdom  of  the  salesman  turns  to  account 
the  testimonial  of  one  who  has  purchased  his  wares. 
The  prayer  meeting  and  other  devotional  services 
which  witness  to  the  efficacy  of  prayer  awaken, 
confirm  and  strengthen  faith. 

Memory. — The  person  waxes  bold  in  his  devo¬ 
tions  when  he  recalls  positive  personal  prayer 
experiences.  The  remembrance  of  the  comforting 
and  encouraging  presence  of  God  in  an  hour  of 
depression,  of  the  healing  of  a  disease,  of  conver¬ 
sion,  of  the  attainment  of  personal  purity,  of  tem¬ 
poral  prosperity,  of  divine  leading  in  perplexing 
situations,  and  of  countless  other  things  wrought 
through  believing  prayer,  tends  to  raise  prayer  to 
a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  The  object  of  memory 
is  suffused  with  a  warmth  and  an  intimacy  to  which 
no  mere  object  of  conception  ever  attains.  Memory 


7  Phelps,  A.:  The  Still  Hour,  p.  43.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co. 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


79 


has  a  tendency  to  reinstate  a  past  event  with  much 
of  its  original  emotional  glow.  Sentimental  and 
optimistic  natures  are  inclined  to  place  a  halo 
around  the  pictures  of  memory,  forgetting  unpleas¬ 
ant  details.  Time,  like  distance,  lends  enchantment. 
A  former  successful  petition  to  heaven  now  held 
in  fond  recollection  is  bathed  in  tender  emotion. 
There  are  no  more  effective  means  of  increasing 
faith  than  such  cherished  memories. 

Serviceable  interpretations  of  unanswered  peti¬ 
tions. — The  usual  attitude  taken  toward  unanswered 
prayers  is  of  such  a  nature  as  not  to  weaken  the 
faith  state.  They  are  generally  either  interpreted 
in  terms  which  cast  no  reflection  on  prayer  or  are 
entirely  ignored  or  forgotten.  Negative  cases  when 
taken  into  consideration  at  all  are  readily  accounted 
for  by  the  majority  of  praying  persons  as  referable 
to  “lack  of  faith, ”  “want  of  definiteness,”  “haste,” 
“improper  objects  of  prayer,”  and  the  like.  Some 
do  not  distinguish  answered  from  unanswered 
prayers,  stoutly  insisting  that  “no”  is  as  truly  an 
answer  as  “yes.”  They  hold  that  often  Providence 
withholds  the  insignificant  thing  asked  for  in  order 
that  an  infinitely  greater  blessing  may  be  bestowed; 
that  Divine  Wisdom  may  overrule  our  shortsighted¬ 
ness  for  our  own  good.  Many  affirm  that  God 
hears  all  our  prayers,  but  answers  only  those  which 
are  conducive  to  our  highest  welfare.  In  some 
such  manner  the  unanswered  prayer  when  accounted 
for  is  almost  invariably  converted  into  a  positive 
reason  for  the  continuation  and  increase  of  faith. 

Ignoring  negative  cases. — But  most  of  the  un¬ 
answered  petitions  are  not  even  accounted  for; 
they  are  generally  forgotten.  The  writer  knows 


8o 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


of  no  book  bearing  the  title  “Unanswered  Prayer.” 
Doubtless  an  overplus  of  material  would  be  avail¬ 
able  for  such  a  study  if  more  unanswered  prayers 
were  taken  seriously  enough  to  be  remembered. 
But  such  a  work  would  be  laughed  to  scorn  by 
those  whose  habit  it  is  to  disregard  negative 
instances.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  super¬ 
abundance  of  literature  recording  positive  expe¬ 
riences.  It  seems  to  be  human  to  forget  our  failures 
and  to  remember  our  successes;  the  former  we 
write  in  shifting  sands,  but  the  latter  we  chisel  in 
granite.  The  ancient  kings,  whose  monuments 
are  now  being  brought  to  light  by  the  spade  of 
the  archaeologist,  were  inclined  to  have  their  military 
and  architectural  achievements  recorded  on  durable 
tablets,  but  were  chary  of  reference  to  defeat  and 
failure.  Every  field  of  human  endeavor  reveals 
the  tendency  to  view  success  through  the  small  end 
of  the  telescope  and  failure  through  the  large  end. 

The  ancient  story  of  the  man  who  was  shown 
a  temple  hung  with  the  pictures  of  all  persons  who 
had  been  saved  from  shipwreck  after  paying  their 
vows  bears  repeating  in  this  connection.  When 
pressed  as  to  whether  he  did  not  now  acknowledge 
the  power  of  the  gods,  he  said,  “Aye,  but  where 
are  those  painted  who  drowned  after  paying  their 
vows?”  It  is  only  the  exceptional  mind  that  raises 
a  question  like  the  following:  “In  the  recent  Boxer 
uprising  some  of  the  missionaries  escaped,  and 
their  escape  was  spoken  of  as  a  signal  case  of  an¬ 
swer  to  prayer.  But  what  of  those  who  did  not 
escape?”8  From  the  foregoing  it  would  seem  rational 


•Bowne,  B.  P.:  The  Essence  of  Religion,  p.  158.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


81 


to  infer  that  when  ten  prayers  are  made  and  only 
one  of  them  is  answered,  as  a  rule  the  one  positive 
experience  is  treasured  and  advertised  while  the 
nine  failures  are-  graciously  overlooked  and  kept 
private.  Thus  on  the  whole  unanswered  prayer 
does  not  reduce  faith,  while  the  focusing  of  the 
attention  upon  the  positive  response  intensifies  it. 

Coincidence. — Faith  is  not  infrequently  so  robust 
as  to  overlook  the  element  of  chance  and  coin¬ 
cidence  among  answers  to  prayer.  A  certain  caution 
in  attributing  results  to  prayer  is  often  a  mark  of 
intelligence.  Recently  there  came  to  the  notice 
of  the  writer  the  case  of  a  certain  man  who  prayed 
God  to  give  the  Americans  a  bloodless  victory  over 
the  Spaniards  at  Manila.  When  word  came  that 
without  loss  of  life  on  their  part  the  Americans 
had  won  the  battle  of  Manila,  this  person  rejoiced 
and  steadfastly  maintained  that  the  victory  was 
a  direct  answer  to  his  prayer.  What  other  persons 
would  unhesitatingly  refer  to  coincidence  (prayers 
for  bloodless  victories  are  offered  by  both  sides  of 
opposing  forces)  he  accepted  as  the  particular 
intervention  of  God  in  response  to  his  petition. 
He  seemed  to  imply  that  if  he  had  not  made  that 
prayer,  some  Americans  might  have  been  killed. 

In  all  such  cases  there  is  presumption  and  blind 
acceptance,  but  little  analysis  and  discrimination. 
If  a  cyclone  lays  waste  a  Western  village,  sparing 
only  a  lowly  cottage  the  inmates  of  which  prayed 
for  deliverance,  there  are  still  to  be  considered 
the  equally  fervent  petitions  of  the  others  whose 
homes  are  a  shapeless  mass  of  debris.  The  mind 
tends  to  interpret  fresh  experiences  in  terms  of  its 
general  point  of  view,  its  expectations,  and  inclin- 


✓  t 


82 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


ations.  In  an  illuminating  passage  Francis  Bacon 
describes  theh  disposition  to  adapt  facts  to ,  our 
preconceived  notions:  “The  human  understanding 
is  no  dry  light,  but  receives  an  infusion  from  the 
will  and  affections,  whence  proceed  sciences  which 
may  be  called  ‘sciences  as  one  would. ’  For  what  a 
man  had  rather  were  true  he  more  readily  be¬ 
lieves.”  But  even  the  interpretation  of  certain 
occurrences  as  answers  to  prayer  when  there  is  no 
rational  justification  for  doing  so,  multiplies  faith. 

Repetition. — Faith  may  be  evoked  and  increased 
by  reiterating  the  prayer.  At  first  belief  may 
waver  like  a  reed  shaken  in  the  wind,  but  with 
each  successive  repetition  it  develops  strength. 
Reiteration  makes  the  mental  imagery  of  the  object 
of  the  petition  increasingly  vivid  and  realistic  and 
desirable.  Analogies  beyond  the  pale  of  prayer 
are  not  wanting.  Who  has  not  seen  wares  so  per¬ 
sistently  advertised  that  the  prospective  buyer, 
although  skeptical  at  first,  finally  comes  to  believe 
in  their  proclaimed  value  and  makes  a  purchase? 

Since  it  is  a  law  of  our  being  that  we  grow  in  the 
direction  of  exercise,  faith  expressed  increases  • 
faith.  It  turns  on  itself  to  its  own  enrichment. 
In  the  words  of  another,  “Now  there  is  only  one 
way  in  which  we  can  learn  to  trust,  and  that  is  by 
trusting.  Therefore  the  duty  of  the  man  who 
feels  inert  and  incapable  of  rising  to  the  level  of 
his  belief,  is  to  arouse  himself,  to  say  to  himself 
again  and  again  until  it  has  become,  as  it  were, 
his  subconscious  possession,  ‘Trust  in  God  is  rational 
and  right,  and  therefore  trust  I  will.’  ”9 


•Worcester,  E.:  Religion  and  Medicine,  p.  319.  MoSat,  Yard  &  Co. 


83 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 

I  ^  > 

THE  NATURE  AND  FUNCTION  OF  FAITH 

Why  is  answer  to  prayer  dependent  upon  faith? 
What  is  its  nature  and  function?  The  answers  to 
these  queries  will  bring  us  close  to  the  heart  of 
prayer. 

Faith  as  will. — Faith  expresses  itself  in  two 
modes,  activity  and  passivity.  In  the  incipient 
stages  it  manifests  itself  primarily  in  effort,  later 
in  self-surrender.  Moved  by  active  faith,  the  soul 
beats  its  wings  against  the  bars  of  its  prison  in 
an  endeavor  to  break  through  its  limitations  and 
live  a  larger  life.  In  passages  already  quoted  Jesus 
makes  faith  the  essential  condition  of  answer  to 
prayer,  but  in  the  following  quotation  he  emphasizes 
activity  and  striving:  “Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you.”10  Now  activity  and  faith  are 
not  mutually  exclusive,  the  former  being  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  latter.  Jesus’  exhortation  to  ask,  seek 
and  knock  is  a  commentary  on  faith.  Mr.  Murray 
doubtless  had  this  aspect  of  belief  in  mind  when 
he  wrote,  “To  believe  truly  is  to  will  firmly.”* 11 

The  justification  of  an  aggressive  faith  is  its 
stimulative  function.  This  leaning  out  toward 
deliverance  arouses  and  shapes  subconscious  activ¬ 
ities  of  religious  significance.  If  we  take  seriously 
the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  life,  and  the  cumulative 
evidence  compels  our  assent,  we  must  admit  that 
in  prayer  as  well  as  suggestion  there  is  a  subcon¬ 
scious  response  to  faith.  Prayer  literature,  testi¬ 
monials  of  others,  memory  of  positive  instances, 

10  Luke  11:9. 

11  Murray,  Andrew:  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer ,  p.  75.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company. 


84  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


the  favorable  interpretation  or  neglect  of  negative 
cases,  the  acceptance  of  coincident  answers,  the 
reiteration  of  one’s  belief,  all  tend  to  rise  out  of 
and  to  give  rise  to  longings,  hopes,  aspirations, 
strivings,  endeavors,  expectations,  and  strainings 
in  the  direction  of  the  answer  to  prayer.  James, 
with  his  usual  penetration,  has  somewhere  said  that 
to  know  our  limitations  is  in  a  sense  to  be  already 
beyond  them.  The  fact  that  the  person  who  is 
praying  or  under  the  influence  of  suggestion  is 
wholly  ignorant  and  unconscious  of  any  effort  to 
realize  his  own  prayer  or  the  suggested  idea,  is  no 
valid  reason  for  assuming  that  none  is  being  made, 
for  the  subconscious  stimulation  may  be  imper¬ 
ceptible  to  clear  consciousness.  All  desires  naturally 
marshal  and  turn  to  account  those  forces  which 
normally  operate  toward  their  gratification. 

How  the  subconscious  accepts  the  challenge  of 
active  expectation  of  faith,  is  neatly  described  by 
Professor  Starbuck  as  follows:  “The  unaccom¬ 
plished  volition  is  doubtless  an  indication  that  new 
nerve  connections  are  budding,  that  a  new  channel 
of  mental  activity  is  being  opened;  and,  in  turn, 
the  act  of  centering  force  (trying)  in  the  given 
direction  may,  through  increased  circulation  and 
heightened  nutrition  at  that  point,  itself  directly 
contribute  to  the  formation  of  those  nerve  con¬ 
nections,  through  which  the  high  potential  of  energy 
which  corresponds  to  the  new  insight  expends 
itself.”12 

Faith  as  self -surrender. — Strained  expectation 
gives  way  to  receptivity,  self-assertion  to  self- 

12 Starbuck,  E.  D.;  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  hi.  Charles  Scribner’s 
Sons. 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


85 


surrender,  activity  to  passivity,  tension  to  relaxa¬ 
tion.  Self-surrender  is  the  casting  of  the  self  into 
the  abyss.  As  a  gambler  who  has  lost  all  save  a 
paltry  sum  which  he  ventures  as  his  last  stake, 
knowing  well  that  he  has  but  little  to  lose  and 
everything  to  win,  so  the  person  after  many  seem¬ 
ingly  fruitless  attempts  to  obtain  an  answer  to  his 
prayer  may  in  utter  despair  and  as  his  last  hope 
cast  himself  without  reservation  upon  a  higher 
power.  Writers  of  devotional  literature  are  one  in 
their  preachment  of  self-surrender  as  an  essential 
of  prayer.  Mr.  Murray,  already  quoted  in  regard 
to  the  activity  of  faith,  expresses  the  opinion  of  the 
majority  of  them  when  he  says,  “Faith  is  simply  sur¬ 
render:  I  yield  myself  to  the  impression  the  tidings  I 
hear  make  on  me.  By  faith  I  yield  myself  to  the  living 
God”u  The  act  of  surrender  is  frequently  followed 
by  a  sudden  and  dramatic  answering  of  the  prayer. 

Now,  surrender  is  not  peculiar  to  religious  expe¬ 
rience,  it  is  a  common  occurrence  in  suggestion. 
As  elsewhere  indicated,  it  is  necessary  to  cease  from 
straining  in  order  that  the  subconscious  may  deliver 
its  product.  In  order  that  we  may  recollect  a 
difficult  name,  we  abandon  our  efforts  to  recall  it. 
Faith  as  activity  of  the  will  initiates  a  subconscious 
process  in  the  right  general  direction.  Since  our 
deeper-lying  self  is  often  wiser  than  our  waking 
self,  to  attain  the  desired  end  the  subconscious 
activity  may  deviate  somewhat  from  the  initial 
tendency  given  by  the  will.  A  conflict  arises  when 
the  activity  of  the  will  and  the  corresponding  sub¬ 
conscious  growth  are  not  harmonious  and  parallel. 

13  Murray,  Andrew:  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  p.  89.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company.  _  ■  . 


86 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Surrender  of  the  self,  or  the  cessation  of  conscious 
striving  and  trying,  resolves  the  conflict  and  makes 
possible  the  complete  realization  of  the  suggested 
idea  or  religious  desire. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  person  is  induced 
to  assume  a  passive  attitude  by  a  vague,  undefined 
feeling  that  further  activity  can  avail  nothing. 
The  conflict  between  the  slightly  misdirected  self- 
assertion  and  the  subconscious  creation  may  result 
in  the  repose  and  calm  which  generally  precede  the 
act  of  surrender.  In  extreme  cases  there  is  weari¬ 
ness  and  despair,  which  may  be  the  outcome  of  the 
v/  exhaustion  of  the  emotional  brain  centers.  But 
be  that  all  as  it  may,  it  seems  to  be  the  rule  that 
trust,  confidence,  passivity,  and  receptivity  must 
precede  the  answering  of  prayer. 

The  independence  of  faith. — We  have  seen  that 
psychologists  are  agreed  that  a  suggestion  may  be 
effective  regardless  of  who  or  what  is  credited  with 
the  result.  It  is  a  form  of  experience,  the  content 
of  which  may  be  either  religious  or  non-religious. 
Belief  that  the  suggested  idea  will  be  realized  is 
of  prime  importance,  the  identity  of  the  supposed 
agent  is  a  secondary  matter  so  far  as  the  sub¬ 
conscious  response  is  concerned.  It  does  not  in  the 
least  affect  the  subconscious  processes  tending  to 
realize  the  idea  of  health,  whether  the  patient 
believes  in  the  efficacy  of  a  patent  medicine  or  his 
physician.  The  mental  attitude  is  the  essential 
element.  It  is  significant  that  answer  to  prayer 
has  been  attributed  to  diverse  agencies.  Graven 
images,  prayer  wheels,  Buddha,  Confucius,  the 
Virgin,  as  well  as  the  God  of  Jesus  are  appealed  to 
and  believed  in  by  millions  who  witness  to  the 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


87 


efficacy  of  their  prayers.  Religious  faith  as  such 
makes  effective  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  life.  God 
moves  upon  the  hearts  of  all  men.  He  is  the  governor 
of  not  only  the  Christian  fraction  of  the  world  but 
of  the  whole  earth,  and  feeds  the  soul-hunger  of 
millions  who  call,  however  mistakenly,  to  what 
they  sincerely  believe  to  be  Lord  of  all.  If  answer  V 
to  prayer  depended  upon  a  correct  understanding 
of  the  metaphysical  nature  and  character  of  God, 
religion,  if  it  could  have  risen,  would  have  died 
long  ago. 

There  is,  for  instance,  the  peculiar  practice  that 
makes  of  prayer  a  charm,  a  talisman,  a  fetish.  It 
is  characterized  by  a  belief  in  the  mere  repetition 
of  prayer  rather  than  by  faith  in  a  prayer-answering 
God.  It  is  a  dependence  on  the  mere  saying  of 
prayers.  A  case  in  point  is  the  following  example 
of  the  so-called  prayer-chain,  which  has  been  so 
widely  circulated  that  it  has  become  a  veritable 
nuisance:  “Lord  Jesus,  I  implore  thee  to  bless  all 
mankind.  Keep  us  from  evil  by  thy  precious  blood 
and  make  us  to  dwell  with  thee  in  eternity.  This 
is  an  exact  copy  of  an  ancient  prayer.  Copy  it 
and  see  what  will  happen.  It  is  said  in  Jerusalem 
that  he  who  will  not  copy  it,  will  meet  with  mis¬ 
fortune,  but  he  who  will  write  it  nine  days,  begin¬ 
ning  with  the  day  he  received  it  and  shall  send  it 
each  day  to  some  friend,  will  on  the  ninth  day 
experience  some  great  joy  and  will  be  delivered 
from  all  calamities.  Make  a  wish  while  writing 
this  and  do  not  break  the  chain.” 

The  incessant  and  utterly  meaningless  repetition 
of  the  Lord’s  Prayer  on  the  part  of  numberless 
persons  savors  of  the  magician’s  incantations.  The 


r 


88 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

conception  of  prayer  as  a  magical  rite  is  well  illus¬ 
trated  in  the  boyhood  practice  of  the  Rev.  F.  W. 
Robertson.  He  says:  “I  recollect  when  I  was 
taken  up  with  nine  other  boys  at  school  to  be  un¬ 
justly  punished,  I  prayed  to  escape  the  shame. 
The  master,  previously  to  flogging  all  the  others, 
said  to  me,  to  the  great  bewilderment  of  the  whole 
school:  ‘Little  boy,  I  excuse  you;  I  have  particular 
reasons  for  it;’  and,  in  fact,  I  was  never  flogged 
during  the  three  years  I  was  at  that  school.  The 
incident  settled  my  mind  for  a  long  time;  only  I 
doubt  whether  it  did  me  any  good,  for  prayer  be¬ 
came  a  charm.  I  fancied  myself  the  favorite  of  the 
Invisible.  I  knew  I  carried  about  a  talisman, 
unknown  to  others,  which  would  save  me  from  all 
harm.  It  did  not  make  me  any  better,  it  simply 
gave  me  security,  as  the  Jew  felt  safe  in  being  the 
descendant  of  Abraham,  or  went  into  battle  under 
the  protection  of  the  ark,  sinning  no  less  all  the 
time.”14 

A  somewhat  higher  type  of  this  variety  is  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  following  method:  “Times  without 
number,  in  moments  of  supreme  doubt,  disap¬ 
pointment,  discouragement,  unhappiness,  a  certain 
prayer  formula,  which  by  degrees  has  built  itself 
up  in  my  mind,  has  been  followed,  in  its  utterance, 
by  quick  and  astonishing  relief.”15 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend  Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers  ex¬ 
presses  himself  as  follows  in  regard  to  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  prayer:  “Plainly  we  must  endeavor 
to  draw  in  as  much  spiritual  life  as  possible, '  and 
we  must  place  our  minds  in  any  attitude  which 


14  Robertson,  F.  W.:  Lije  and  Letters,  p.  52.  Harper  &  Brothers. 
l*  Unbekannt:  The  Outlook,  vol.  lxxxiii,  p.  858. 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


89 


experience  shows  to  be  favorable  to  such  indrawal. 
Prayer  is  the  general  name  for  that  attitude  of 
open  and  earnest  expectancy.  If  we,  then,  ask 
to  whom  to  pray,  the  answer  (strangely  enough)  must 
be  that  that  does  not  much  matter.  The  prayer  is 
not,  indeed,  a  purely  subjective  thing;  it  means  a 
real  increase  in  intensity  of  absorption  of  spiritual 
power  or  grace;  but  we  do  not  know  enough  of 
what  takes  place  in  the  spiritual  world  to  know 
how  the  prayer  operates — who  is  cognizant  of  it, 
or  through  what  channel  the  grace  is  given.  Better 
let  children  pray  to  Christ,  who  at  any  rate  is  the 
highest  individual  spirit  of  whom  we  have  any 
knowledge.  But  it  would  be  rash  to  say  that  Christ 
himself  hears  us:  while  to  say  that  God  hears  us  is 
merely  to  restate  the  first  principle — that  grace 
flows  in  from  the  infinite  spiritual  world.”16 

Many  lean  upon  the  petitions  of  others.  Their 
faith  seems  to  be  faith  in  deeply  religious  persons 
rather  than  in  God.  They  request  the  prayers  of 
others  motivated  by  an  undefined  assumption  that 
others  stand  closer  to  God  than  they.  Such  belief 
and  practice  seems  to  be  a  survival  of  the  ancient 
confidence  in  the  medicine  man  or  magician  to  con¬ 
trol  the  forces  that  affect  the  people.  Something 
of  this  primitive  faith  is  reflected  in  the  appeal  to 
a  system  of  mediating  personalities  between  God 
^and  man.  God  is  so  majestic  and  holy  that  it  were 
a  sacrilege  to  approach  him  directly;  hence  the 
saints  are  implored  to  intercede  and  exert  their 
influence. 

While  many  facts  sustain  the  conclusion  that 

11  Cited  in  James,  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  p.  467.  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co. 


90 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


it  is  religious  faith,  and  not  necessarily  an  interpre¬ 
tation  of  that  which  is  appealed  to  and  acknowledged 
as  the  grantor  of  the  request,  which  acts  upon  the 
forces  realizing  the  prayer,  it  should  not  be  over¬ 
looked  that  the  nature  of  the  things  petitioned  for 
varies  with  the  character  of  the  power  implored. 
While  it  is  a  comfort  that  a  theology  cannot  affect 
God,  while'it  would  be  the  world’s  greatest  tragedy 
if  the  answer  to  our  petitions  depended  upon  an 
exact  metaphysical  conception  of  God,  nevertheless, 
a  low  conception  of  God  begets  prayers  of  a  corre¬ 
spondingly  low  type ,  and  a  loftier  conception  lifts 
prayer  to  a  higher  moral  plane.  Prayer  cannot  fail 
to  reflect  one’s  world-view,  and,  conversely,  our 
philosophy  influences  our  devotions.  The  prayers 
of  primitive  man  for  a  bountiful  harvest  and  vic¬ 
tory  in  battle  differ  radically  from  those  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  for  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
on  earth. 


SUMMARY 

Faith  is  an  indispensable  element  in  both  sug¬ 
gestion  and  prayer.  True  prayer  is  impossible 
without  a  lively  conviction  that  there  is  a  Gtod 
and  that  he  will  respond  to  all  who  sincerely  call 
upon  him.  Certain  attitudes  and  practices  have 
arisen  which  support  and  establish  faith  in  prayer. 
The  attitude  toward  unanswered  petitions  and 
coincident  answers  is  in  most  instances  of  such  a 
character  that  faith  is  not  only  undisturbed  but 
actually  increased.  What  we  repeatedly  hold  before 
the  mind  develops  a  readiness  to  generate  belief 
in  its  validity  and  value.  Wise  education  in  morals 
and  religion,  the  reading  of  stimulating  devotional 


FAITH  IN  PRAYER 


9i 


literature,  the  witness  of  others  rich  in  prayer 
experience,  the  memory  of  productive  cases  all 
conspire  to  arouse  and  multiply  faith. 

Faith  is  a  constructive  force.  In  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  answering  of  the  prayer  faith  awakens 
and  regulates  the  subconscious  powers  which  realize 
the  expectations  of  the  petitioner.  When  the 
answer  has  matured  sufficiently  to  be  ready  to  be 
the  conscious  acquisition  of  the  self,  faith  assumes 
the  nature  of  receptivity  and  passivity.  Self¬ 
surrender  withdraws  all  opposition  to  the  developed 
product.  The  doctrine  of  the  divine  immanence 
makes  inevitable  the  conclusion  that  God  mani¬ 
fests  himself  creatively  in  the  subconscious  response 
to  the  appeal  of  faith. 

The  efficacy  of  faith  as  such  is  not  absolutely 
conditioned  by  our  theological  doctrines.  In  the 
merciful  economy  of  God  men  praying  upon  the 
various  levels  of  religious  insight  receive  the  reward 
of  faith.  Nevertheless,  the  objectives  of  faith 
accord  with  the  degree  of  spiritual  culture  attained, 
and  in  turn  are  themselves  a  partial  disclosure  of 
our  religious  conceptions. 


\ 


/ 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  ANSWER  TO  PERSONAL  PETITIONAL 

PRAYER 

What  is  the  nature  of  the  response  to  petitional 
prayer  in  as  far  as  that  response  lies  within  the 
field  of  psychology?  Is  it  a  product  of  the  mental 
life,  religiously  influenced,  or  is  it  independent  of 
and  at  variance  with  what  we  are  pleased  to  call 
God’s  natural  order?  Is  it  describable  in  terms  of 
subconscious  reaction,  or  is  it  totally  unlike  any¬ 
thing  else  with  which  we  are  acquainted?  Does 
prayer  at  this  point  part  company  with  suggestion? 
What  are  the  criteria,  what  are  the  methods  that 
reveal  the  nature  of  the  individual’s  response  to 
petitional  prayer? 

The  method  of  analyzing  each  typical  subjective 
form  of  answer  to  such  prayer  and  of  comparing 
its  psychological  traits  with  like  subconscious  results 
will  be  adopted.  This  procedure  is  called  the  method 
of  analogy.  If  it  can  be  conclusively  shown  that 
answers  to  this  type  of  petitional  prayer  and  kindred 
subconscious  products  are  related,  the  inference 
may  be  drawn  logically  that  prayer  employs  the 
mechanism  and  technic  of  suggestion.  If  such  a 
conclusion  be  imperative,  it  does  not  follow  that 
prayer  and  suggestion  are  necessarily  identical. 
As  has  already  been  anticipated,  the  prayer  impulse 
creates  the  process  of  suggestion  and  employs  it. 

The  many  varieties  of  prayer  response  which  are 

92 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER 


93 


reported  make  a  classification  extremely  difficult. 
Tentatively,  petitional  prayers  may  be  divided 
,  into~  two  classes :  prayers  answered  through  the 
self  and  prayers  answered  through  another  self. 
Prayers  falling  under  the  first  division  are  answered 
through  the  spiritual  and  mental  forces  of  the 
personality  itself;  those  of  the  second  class  depend 
for  their  response  upon  the  cooperation  of  two  or 
more  selves.  This  grouping  i$  in  harmony  with  the 
classification  of  suggestion  into  social  and  auto¬ 
suggestion.  Prayers  answered  through  the  peti¬ 
tioning  personality  itself  include  autosuggestion, 
and  those  answered  through  another  self  involve 
social  suggestion.  This  chapter  concerns  itself 
with  answers  coming  through  the  praying  self, 
such  as  regeneration,  ethical  betterment,  the  cure 
of  disease,  divine  guidance.  It  will  be  well  to  bear 
in  mind  that  the  purpose  of  the  chapter  is  not  so 
much  to  discover  which  prayers  contain  social 
suggestion  and  which  self-suggestion  as  it  is  to 
inquire  into  the  nature  of  the  answer  itself. 

PRAYER  FOR  REGENERATION 

The  wonderful  experience  of  regeneration  is 
quite  generally  attributed  to  the  power  of  believing 
prayer.  In  fact,  so  much  have  prayer  and  regenera¬ 
tion  in  common  that  in  order  to  understand  the 
one  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  other. 
Scattered  throughout  Professor  Starbuck’s  exhaus¬ 
tive  inductive  study  of  the  psychology  of  conversion 
there  are  many  autobiographical  accounts  of  regen¬ 
eration  in  terms  of  prayer.  When  the  process  of 
conversion  is  characterized  by  well-definedN  crises, 
there  are  recognizable  the  following  factors:  a 


94 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


narrowing  of  the  field  of  consciousness,  faith  as 
strained  expectation,  self-surrender,  &nd  elation.  In 
most  cases  it  is  impossible  to  determine  to  a  finality 
whether  the  prayer  has  its  inception  in  a  social  or 
autosuggestion  of  religious  origin,  but  under  nor¬ 
mal  conditions  the  results  are  the  same. 

A  sense  of  incompleteness. — The  prayer  ex^ 
presses  the  disquieting  sense  of  undoneness,  and 
the  yearning  for  the  larger  self.  “There  are  forces 
in  human  life  and  its  surroundings  which  tend  to 
break  the  unity  and  harmony  of  consciousness; 
and  its  unity  once  destroyed,  the  contrast  between 
what  is  and  what  might  be  gives  birth  to  ideals 
and  sets  the  two  selves  in  sharp  opposition  to  each 
other.”1  In  his  poem,  “The  Buried  Life,”  Matthew 
Arnold  has  described  this  state  of  mind: 

“From  the  soul’s  subterranean  depth  upborne 
As  from  an  infinitely  distant  land, 

Come  airs,  and  floating  echoes,  and  convey  ^ 
A  melancholy  into  all  our  day.” 

So  long  as  this  mental  distress  obtains,  the  person 
does  not  need  to  force  himself  to  pray;  the  inner 
f  conflict  is  so  great  that  it  itself  drives  him  to  his 
knees.  His  emotions  are  aroused.  He  fasts  or 
eats  sparingly.  He  prostrates  himself.  He  reiter¬ 
ates  to  heaven  his  petition  for  salvation.  The  con¬ 
version  experience  of  men  like  Saint  Paul,  Saint 
Augustine,  and  Luther  witnesses  to  the  intensity 
of  the  strain  in  natures  marked  by  moral  sensitive¬ 
ness  and  an  abundance  of  emotion.  It  is  needless 


1  Starbuck,  E.  D.:  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  155.  qharles  Scribner’s 
Sons. 


PERSONAL  PETTTIONAL  PRAYER 


95 


to  add  that,  in  the  circumstances,  the  idea  of 
deliverance  is  imposed  upon  the  mind  to  the  exclu¬ 
sion  of  other  impressions. 

Effort  and  result. — The  person  may  for  some 
time  continue  to  be  apparently  unsuccessful  in  his 
effort  to  bring  about  the  answering  of  his  prayer 
for  conversion,2  Nature’s  method  of  healing  a 
breach  in  consciousness  is  to  widen  it.  The  matur¬ 
ing  of  the  new  life  is  a  complex  process,  requiring 
considerable  time  and  repeated  prayer.  Faith  as 
strained  expectation  is  supported  by  the  reading 
of  the  Bible  and  other  devotional  literature,  the 
encouragement  of  friends,  and  other  means  of 
grace.  What  one  longs  for,  leans  out  toward, 
strives  for,  and  expects,  is  a  cue  for  the  subcon¬ 
scious  energy.  Faith,  as  effort,  and  the  subconscious 
interact.  In  Christendom  where  Jesus  is  the 
acknowledged  spiritual  leader  and  Saviour,  the 
subconscious  processes  of  the  seeker  are  naturally 
influenced  by  him.  To  hold  in  mind  the  Christlike 
ideal  and  to  believe  firmly  in  the  possibility  of 
attaining  it  is  the  first  step  in  its  actualization. 

Parallels  of  subconscious  incubation  in  response 
to  straining  are  common  in  realms  other  than  the 
religious,  if  one  may  make  the  distinction  for  the 
mere  sake  of  clearness.  The  subconscious  element 
in  such  mental  processes  as  the  solution  of  mathe¬ 
matical  problems  during  sleep,  the  acquisition  of 
skill  in  piano-plaving,  the  construction  of  the  plot 
for  a  novel,  the  recollection  of  difficult  data,  the 
contriving  of  an  invention,  is  too  generally  known 


*  Since  no  distinction  between  conversion  and  regeneration  is  necessary  in 
this  discussion,  none  is  made.  Repentance  is  a  change  of  mind,  conversion  act¬ 
ing  on  the  new  insight,  regeneration  the  rebirth  itself. 


96 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


and  admitted  to  make  further  comment  necessary. 
An  account  of  the  steps  by  which  a  theologian 
reached  what  he  calls  his  racial  theory  of  the  atone¬ 
ment  reveals  the  kinship  existing  between  the 
conscious  effort  and  the  subconscious.  For  six 
years  he  tried  to  preserve  the  important  qualities 
of  the  three  great  historic  theories  of  the  atonement, 
but  the  result  was  so  mechanical  that  he  was  at 
last  obliged  to  throw  it  away.  “I  had  become 
hopeless,  when  there  suddenly  came  to  me  a  vision 
of  the  full  Christian  meaning  of  the  human  race. 
This  vision  not  only  vitalized,  but  actually  trans¬ 
formed,  my  entire  theological  situation.  I  saw  not 
merely  the  atonement,  but  every  doctrine,  and 
the  total  combination  of  doctrine,  in  a  new  light. 
From  that  supreme  hour  (on  one  of  the  hills  near 
Marburg)  my  one  aim  has  been  to  get  that  racial 
vision  into  living  expression.”3 

Self -surrender. — In  his  extremity  the  seeker, 
feeling  that  further  striving  would  be  useless,  ceases 
to  struggle  and  at  once  experiences  a  sense  of  pardon 
and  deliverance  from  sin  together  with  a  feeling 
of  oneness  and  unity  with  God  and  Christ.  We 
have  seen  that  cessation  of  conscious  striving  dis¬ 
solves  any  conflict  which  may  have  developed  in 
the  course  of  the  interaction  between  the  will  and 
the  subconscious  response.  Before  the  new  self 
can  blossom  into  consciousness  all  opposition  to 
the  subliminal  activities  must  cease.  The  will  is 
exercised  in  the  direction  of  the  more  victorious 
self  until  the  old  foundations  of  life  become  so 
shaken  and  insecure  that  the  person  finally  casts 


•Curtis.  O.  A.:  The  Christian  Faith,  p.  316.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER 


97 


himself  without  reservation  upon  the  deeper-lying 
power  ready  to  assert  itself.  The  unification  of  con¬ 
sciousness,  the  healing  of  the  breach  created  by  the 
opposition  between  the  old  and  the  ideal  self,  the 
functioning  of  a  wider  and  more  competent  per¬ 
sonality,  relieve  the  tension  and  strain  and  evoke 
a  sense  of  deep  peace.  There  is  now  an  active  sym¬ 
pathy  with  the  outside  world,  a  living  from  within 
of  the  ideal  that  was  once  external,  a  glorification 
of  the  natural  world,  and  often  the  birth  of  new 
intellectual  and  moral  powers.  J 

Analogous  cases  from  the  general  field  of  the 
subconscious  illustrating  the  effect  of  an  atti¬ 
tude  of  receptivity  opportunely  assumed,  are  so 
numerous  that  a  selection  is  embarrassing.  The 
following  may  suffice:  It  occurred  to  Mr.  F.  H. 
Wenham,  an  amateur  optician,  that  the  binocular 
microscope  devised  by  M.  Nachet  might  be  im¬ 
proved  by  means  of  a  prism  of  a  certain  shape. 
“He  thought  of  this  a  great  deal,  without  being 
able  to  hit  upon  the  form  of  prism  which  would  do 
what  was  required;  and  as  he  was  going  into  busi¬ 
ness  as  an  engineer,  he  put  his  microscopic  studies 
entirely  aside  for  more  than  a  fortnight,  attending 
only  to  his  other  affairs.  One  evening,  after  his 
day’s  work  was  done  and  ‘while  he  was  reading  a 
stupid  novel,’  thinking  nothing  whatever  of  his 
microscope,  the  form  of  the  prism  that  should 
answer  the  purpose  flashed  into  his  mind.  He 
fetched  his  mathematical  instruments,  drew  a 
diagram  of  it,  and  worked  out  the  angles  which 
would  be  required;  the  next  morning  he  made  his 
prism,  and  found  that  it  answered  perfectly  well; 
and  it  has  been  on  this  plan  that  all  the  ‘binoculars’ 


98 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


hitherto  in  ordinary  use  in  this  country  have  been 
t/  since  constructed.”4 

Note  the  element  of  elation  and  satisfaction  in 
a  mathematical  discovery  by  Sir  W.  Rowan  Ham¬ 
ilton:  “To-morrow  will  be  the  fifteenth  birthday 
of  the  Quaternions.  They  started  into  life  or  light, 
fullgrown,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1843,  as  I  was 
walking  with  Lady  Hamilton  to  Dublin,  and  came 
up  to  Brougham  Bridge.  ...  I  pulled  out,  on  the 
spot,  a  pocketbook,  which  still  exists,  and  made 
an  entry,  on  which,  at  the  very  moment ,  I  felt  that 
it  might  be  worth  my  while  to  expend  the  labor 
of  at  least  ten  (or  it  might  be  fifteen)  years  to  come. 
But  then  it  is  fair  to  say  that  this  was  because  I 
felt  a  problem  to  have  been  at  that  moment  solved 
— an  intellectual  want  relieved — which  had  haunted 
me  for  at  least  fifteen  years  before.’* 

Is  conversion  instantaneous? — It  may  be  alleged 
that  in  many  cases  the  interval  between  the  making 
of  the  prayer  for  conversion  and  the  coming  of 
the  answer  is  altogether  too  short  to  allow  for 
the  slow  growth  of  the  new  life.  This  argument 
is  advanced  by  some  who  still  embrace  the  view 
that  in  order  to  be  of  divine  origin  an  occurrence 
must  not  only  be  independent  of  law  but  also  be 
dramatic  and  sudden.  The  experience  of  Saint 
Paul  is  frequently  cited  by  them.  Those  who  are 
of  this  opinion  fail  to  take  into  account  that  although 
consenting  to  Stephen’s  death,  Paul  was  too  broad¬ 
minded  not  to  have  been  profoundly  moved  by  the 
eloquent  apology  and  heroic  spirit  of  the  martyr. 
Neither  should  one  overlook  the  probability  that 


4  Carpenter,  W.  B.:  Mental  Physiology,  p.  538.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

‘Cited  in  Carpenter,  W.  B.;  Mental  Physiology,  p.  537.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER 


99 


the  moral  integrity  of  the  Christians  whom  Paul 
persecuted  could  not  have  been  altogether  lost 
upon  one  of  his  passion  for  righteousness  and  fidel¬ 
ity  to  conviction.  Furthermore,  it  is  significant 
that  between  his  vision  before  the  gates  of  Da¬ 
mascus  and  his  baptism,  three  days  of  fasting  and 
prayer  intervened.  Doubts  as  to  the  ethical  pro¬ 
priety  of  his  open  hostility  to  the  new  faith  and  a 
growing  conviction  that  he  should  embrace  Chris¬ 
tianity,  developed  the  crisis  in  which  he  turned 
from  the  wrong  way  of  serving  God  to  the  right  way. 

Itinerant  evangelists  and  superintendents  of  rescue 
missions  are  constantly  referring  to  persons  who 
come  to  a  revival  meeting  sinful  and  degraded  and 
without  previous  religious  interest,  but  leave  it 
having  experienced  sudden  conversion.  In  reply 
two  things  should  be  affirmed.  In  the  first  place, 
no  observer  can  deny  that  when  the  stimulus  of 
an  emotional  revival  has  been  withdrawn  many 
converts  “backslide.’’  The  religious  instability  of 
some  may  be  due  to  a  lack  of  preparation  and  a 
forced  hot-house  growth  induced  by  the  spell  of 
the  revivalist.  Then,  too,  there  seem  to  be  in 
every  community  persons  devoid  of  strong  inner 
supports,  liquid  minds  in  a  perpetual  state  of 
fluctuation,  that  yield  to  the  social  pressure  of  the 
moment  only  to  shift  the  center  of  interest  when 
something  new  is  presented.  The  more  permanent 
rescue  mission  with  its  continuity  of  pastoral  super¬ 
vision  doubtless  prevents  many  losses  by  training 
its  converts  in  religion  and  morals,  and  by  enlist¬ 
ing  them  in  social  service,  by  means  of  which  the 
new  life  develops  and  finally  becomes  a  subcon¬ 
scious  possession.  By  this  method  the  Christian 


IOO 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


life  that  is  peripheral  becomes  central,  the  ideals 
that  are  centripetal  become  centrifugal. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  indisputable  that  many 
cases  of  so-called  sudden  conversion  are  thorough¬ 
going.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  these 
permanent  and  stable  cases  are  invariably  influ¬ 
enced  by  previous  religious  impressions  made,  per¬ 
haps  years  before,  by  the  home  and  church.  Deep 
down  in  the  life  of  the  one  experiencing  a  sudden 
answer  to  the  prayer  for  conversion  there  have 
doubtless  been  antecedent  longings  and  a  reaching 
out  after  the  better  life,  which  have  induced  a 
corresponding  growth  of  the  religious  life.  The 
very  presence  in  a  religious  meeting  of  such  a  one, 
if  sincere,  is  an  evidence  of  yearnings  for  an  enriched 
life.  An  opportune  word  from  the  lips  of  a  revival¬ 
ist  may  be  the  spark  which  explodes  into  conscious¬ 
ness  what  has  been  subconsciously  maturing  for  a 
long  time.  The  Holy  Spirit  makes  contact  with 
the  subtle  and  intangible  but  none  the  less  lasting 
and  influential  contributions  of  the  religious  forces 
which  play  upon  the  early  years  of  life.  Far  be  it 
from  us  to  maintain  that  conversion  without  ante¬ 
cedent  stages  of  development  is  impossible  with 
God,  but  we  are  under  obligation  to  reckon  with 
his  habitual  method. 

Subconscious  parallels. — It  may  confirm  the 
contention  that  the  prayer  for  regeneration  induces 
a  subconscious  creation,  to  point  out  analogous 
cases.  The  experiences  of  Buddha  and  of  the 
Sioux  Indian  of  the  Omaha  tribe  may  be  cited. 
At  twenty-nine  Buddha,  hungering  after  the  higher 
values,  made  his  great  renunciation,  leaving  his 
beloved  wife,  infant  son,  and  palatial  home.  After 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  ioi 

seven  years  of  what  seemed  to  be  fruitless  search¬ 
ing,  “one  night,  the  old  traditions  narrate,  the 
decisive  turning  point  came,  the  moment  wherein 
was  vouchsafed  to  the  seeker  the  certainty  of  dis- 
covery.  Sitting  under  the  tree,  since  then  named 
the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  he  went  through  success¬ 
ively  purer  and  purer  stages  of  abstraction  of 
consciousness,  until  the  sense  of  omniscient  illumina¬ 
tion  came  over  him.  .  .  .  ‘When  I  apprehended  this,’ 
he  is  reported  to  have  said,  ‘and  when  I  beheld  this, 
my  soul  was  released  from  the  evil  of  desire,  released 
from  the  evil  of  earthly  existence,  released  from  the 
evil  of  terror,  released  from  the  evil  of  ignorance. 
In  the  released  awoke  the  knowledge  of  the  release: 
extinct  is  rebirth,  finished  the  sacred  course,  duty 
done,  no  more  shall  I  return  to  this  world;  this  I 
know.’  ”6 

Among  the  Sioux  Indians  the  adolescent  boy  is 
sent  forth  upon  some  hill  to  cry  to  Wakonda  with¬ 
out  asking  for  anything  in  particular.  “By  training 
his  mind  and  body  for  days,  the  Sioux  boy  expels 
from  his  mind  concepts  discordant  with  this  course 
of  action.  He  fills  his  mind  with  the  pictures  of 
heroes;  these  heroes  are  the  animals;  and  their 
deeds  are  examples  of  life.  .  .  .  Moistened  earth  is 
put  upon  his  head  and  face,  a  small  bow  and  arrows 
are  given  him.  He  seeks  a  secluded  spot  on  some 
high  hill;  and  under  the  pines  he  chants  the  prayer; 
he  lifts  to  heaven  his  hands  wet  with  tears  and 
then  lays  them  on  the  earth;  he  fasts,  until  at  last 
after  some  days  he  falls  into  a  sleep  or  trance. 
If  in  his  dream  or  trance  he  hear  or  see  anything, 
that  thing  is  to  become  the  special  mediator  through 


« Oldenberg,  H.:  Buddha,  p.  107.  P.  Eckler. 


102 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


which  he  receives  aid.  Then,  the  ordeal  over,  the 
youth  returns  for  food  and  rest.  No  one  questions 
him,  but  at  the  end  of  four  days  he  confides  his 
vision  to  some  old  man,  and  starts  to  find  the  ani¬ 
mal  he  has  seen  in  his  trance.  The  totem  is  the 
symbol  of  this  animal.  .  .  .  By  it  his  natural  powers 
are  to  be  reenforced  so  as  to  give  him  success  as  a 
hunter,  victory  as  a  warrior,  and  even  ability  to 
see  into  the  future. ”7 

There  are  resemblances  in  all  forms  of  conversion 
and  their  parallels.  A  sense  of  incompleteness,  a 
narrowing  of  the  field  of  consciousness,  a  straining 
after  deliverance,  and  a  realization  of  the  new  self 
are  characteristic  of  all  varieties  of  conversion.  The 
psychological  aspects  of  the  answer  to  the  prayer 
for  conversion  and  their  parallel  cases  betray  essen¬ 
tial  likenesses.  They  are  instances  of  a  group  of 
facts  already  known. 

The  points  of  contrast  between  Christian  con¬ 
versions  and  others. — This  does  not  imply  that 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  solution  of  a 
mathematical  problem  and  a  conversion,  or  between 
the  conversion  of  a  Christian  and  the  analogous 
experience  of  a  Sioux  Indian.  The  difference  is  of 
tremendous  significance.  The  contrast  is  religious 
and  moral.  Ethical  and  religious  ideas  and  ideals 
determine  the  value  of  the  experience.  Conceptions 
of  God  and  duty  condition  the  character  of  a  re¬ 
ligious  transformation.  Regardless  of  their  moral 
nature,  ideals  tend  to  determine  conduct.  The  ideal 
of  a  Buddha  was  the  extinction  of  desire,  the  ideal 
of  a  Sioux  boy  is  the  strength  and  cunning  of  an 

7  Woods,  J.  H.:  The  Practice  and  Science  of  Religion,  p.  6 sff.  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  103 


animal,  the  ideal  of  a  Christian  is  Jesus.  To  each  is 
given  according  to  the  proportion  of  faith.  “What¬ 
soever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.” 
Ideals  are  seeds  that  grow,  and  their  quality  and 
kind  determine  the  harvest  of  character. 

The  divine  element. — The  fact  that  the  same  V 
general  psychological  principles  underlie  all  types 
of  conversion  does  not  exclude  the  operations  of 
God.  In  fact,  the  process  as  described  may  be 
regarded  as  a  method  whereby  God  is  pleased  to 
express  himself.  Surely,  the  self-activity  of  God' 
may  be  as  readily  discerned  in  events  reducible 
to  his  laws  as  in  phenomena  at  variance  with  the 
natural  order.  Furthermore,  the  test  of  Christian 
character  is  not  an  experience  unrelated  to  God’s 
universe  of  law,  but  a  life  that  is  guided  by  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  a  life  that  brings  the  principles  of 
the  Master  to  bear  upon  the  daily  concerns,  a  life 
that  is  spent  in  the  service  of  humanity.  The 
divine  character  of  a  Christian  experience  is  attested 
by  the  fact  that  a  life  is  made  divine.  In  conver¬ 
sion  there  is  a  divine  impulse,  an  effort  of  the  Eternal 
to  express  himself  in  time,  and  to  realize  in  human 
life  his  moral  character  and  purpose.  Without 
this  inner  divine  prompting  there  would  be  no 
straining  of  the  self  in  the  direction  of  righteous¬ 
ness,  no  faith  in  God,  no  creation  of  a  new  self. 
The  Comforter  reproves  the  world  of  sin  and  of 
righteousness  and  of  judgment,  and  without  this 
divine  activity  there  could  be  no  process  of  regen- 
eration.  ■  The  psychology  of  the  prayer  of  con¬ 
version  describes  the  mental  accompaniments  of 
the  invasion  of  a  human  life  by  the  divine  impulse. 

Not  that  the  same  God  is  not  struggling  for  recog- 


104 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


nition  and  supremacy  in  a  Sioux  or  a  Buddha. 
The  acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  universal 
Fatherhood  of  God  makes  it  imperative  that  we 
regard  any  groping  after  moral  light,  any  impulse 
toward  righteousness,  any  spiritual  aspiration  as  a 
response  to  the  movement  of  one  and  the  same 
creative  and  sustaining  and  vitalizing  agency. 
Nevertheless,  we  sincerely  believe  God  comes  to 
fullest  self-revelation  in  those  who  are  led  to  him 
by  Christ.  And  there  are  degrees  of  spiritual  com¬ 
prehension  and  attainment  among  individuals  as 
well  as  among  races. 

Tolstoy’s  conversion  and  world-wide  influence 
may  be  cited  as  a  demonstration  of  the  uniqueness 
of  the  Christian  experience.  Born  the  heir  to  vast 
estates  and  to  the  title  of  Count,  moving  in  what 
is  called  high  society,  a  talented  musician,  acquit¬ 
ting  himself  with  honor  on  the  field  of  battle, 
achieving  literary  fame  as  the  author  of  short 
stories  and  novels,  Tolstoy,  nevertheless,  for  years 
had  no  satisfying  portion.  But  one  day  while 
walking  in  the  woods  that  surrounded  his  estate 
and  while  listening  to  the  spring  melody  of  the 
world  coming  to  life,  there  came  to  him  this  revela¬ 
tion:  “I  can  live  only  when  I  believe  in  God;  when 
I  do  not  believe  I  feel  as  if  I  must  die.  What  seek 
I  further?  Without  him  I  cannot  live.  To  know 
God  and  to  live  are  the  same  thing.  God  is  life.” 
The  light  never  failed  him.  Since  that  hour  of 
spiritual  illumination  and  uplift,  the  pilgrims  to 
his  home  have  been  legion,  some  seeking  religious 
inspiration  and  guidance,  others  piqued  by  curios¬ 
ity.  A  few  adopted  his  literal  interpretation  of 
Jesus’  teaching.  Others  departed,  sorrowful  because 


PERSONAL  PETITION AL  PRAYER  105 


unwilling  to  pay  for  the  pearl  of  great  price.  Many 
accepted  his  message  in  part  and  returned  to  their 
respective  lands  to  share  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

PRAYER  FOR  ETHICAL  BETTERMENT 

As  an  example  of  answer  to  prayer  for  moral 
improvement,  the  breaking  of  a  bad  habit  is  typical. 
As  a  rule,  many  evil  traits  are  permanently  elim¬ 
inated  through  conversion,  but  occasionally  a  post¬ 
conversion  experience  is  necessary  for  the  eradica¬ 
tion  of  bad  habits  that  are  deeply  rooted.  “He 
that  is  bathed  needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet.”8 
Regeneration  may  be  regarded  as  the  rebirth  of 
the  entire  personality,  while  the  elimination  of  a 
specific  evil  touches  but  a  part  of  the  self. 

A  case  in  point. — A  farmer  confessed  that 
although  he  had  been  soundly  converted  and  had 
united  with  the  church,  he  was  still  subject  to 
violent  outbursts  of  temper.  For  a  long  time  he 
prayed  for  self-control,  but  without  any  appreciable 
result.  One  day  a  steer  broke  through  a  fence  and, 
going  into  a  corn  field,  began  to  destroy  the  grain 
standing  in  shocks.  The  rest  of  the  cattle  were 
not  long  in  following  his  example.  By  the  dint  of 
much  labor  the  farmer  drove  the  herd  from  the 
field,  but  the  vexation  cost  him  a  paroxysm  of 
rage.  Ashamed  and  deeply  penitent  that  he  had 
given  way  to  his  besetting  sin,  he  then  and  there 
fell  upon  his  knees  and  renewed  his  prayer  for 
deliverance  from  the  evil.  While  in  the  act  of 
prayer  a  tender  and  comforting  feeling  flooded  his 
being,  and  he  arose  from  his  knees  with  the  assur¬ 
ance  that  at  last  he  had  been  set  free.  Although 


8  John  13:  10. 


io6 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


sorely  tried  and  tempted,  from  that  day  he  has 
retained  self-mastery. 

His  conversion  was  doubtless  genuine,  but  as  to 
self-control  it  was  potential  rather  than  actual  in 
its  immediate  effects.  This  virtue  did  not  have 
time  to  become  sufficiently  drilled  in  before  the 
old  tendency  to  fits  of  temper  reasserted  itself. 
The  old  neural  paths  had  either  not  been  wholly 
assimilated  into  the  new  and  higher  centers  or  had 
not  suffered  a  total  atrophy  of  disuse,  and  therefore, 
perhaps  after  the  exhilaration  of  a  dramatic  con¬ 
version  had  subsided,  the  former  ruling  passion 
began  little  by  little  to  reorganize  the  remnants 
of  its  functional  paths.  A  conflict  between  the 
old  channels  of  discharge  and  the  newly  functioning 
personality  ensued.  Then  followed  a  persistent 
effort  in  the  form  of  prayer  to  unify  consciousness. 
Attention  was  directed  to  the  vulnerable  spot  in 
the  self,  faith  in  the  power  of  prayer  was  exercised, 
a  corresponding  growth  of  self-discipline  obtained. 
In  reply  to  a  question,  the  farmer  stated  that  com¬ 
plete  surrender  characterized  the  petition  that 
/  brought  relief.  The  casting  of  the  self  upon  the 
great  world-life,  when  conditions  were  ripe,  opened 
wide  the  way  through  which  the  energy  was  shot 
L"in  the  new  direction.  The  instantaneous  unifica¬ 
tion  of  consciousness  eliminated  all  strain  and 
tension  and  gave  rise  to  a  state  of  exaltation. 

Parallel  instances. — Other  means  are  employed 
to  break  bad  habits.  Analogies  outside  the  field 
of  prayer  may  be  found  in  the  use  of  hypnotic  sug¬ 
gestion  for  the  correction  of  moral  disorders.  Alco¬ 
holism,  lying,  cowardice,  kleptomania,  sexual  vices, 
and  other  defects  of  character  have  been  success- 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  107 


fully  treated  by  experimenters  in  hypnotism.9  A 
young  man  addicted  to  cigarette  smoking  was 
hypnotized  by  Dr.  W.  E.  Harlow.  In  the  hypnotic 
state  the  subject  was  told  that  if  he  ever  smoked 
again  he  would  vomit.  At  the  command  of  the 
experimenter  the  subject  repeated  the  suggestion: 
“If  I  smoke  it  will  make  me  very  sick.  I  will  vomit. ” 
The  next  day  when  he  lighted  a  cigarette  he  had 
an  attack  of  nausea  which  induced  vomiting.  It 
is  needless  to  state  that  the  pernicious  habit  was 
permanently  broken.10 

The  value  of  hypnotism  in  the  cure  of  dipsomania 
is  seen  in  the  following  case  treated  by  Dr.  G.  B. 
Cutten:  The  patient  began  to  drink  when  ten 
years  old,  acquiring  the  habit  in  his  father’s  tavern. 
For  forty-nine  years  he  drank  whisky.  After  the 
first  hypnotic  treatment,  all  desire  for  drink  was 
gone.  After  the  second,  he  could  enter  saloons 
while  about  his  business  without  the  least  craving 
for  intoxicants.  When  last  heard  of  he  was  ab¬ 
stemious.* 11 

The  religious  element. — Although  any  legitimate 
method  of  purging  the  self  of  its  crasser  elements 
reflects  the  divine  operation,  religion  is  plainly  the 
most  efficacious.  The  teachings  of  religion  create 
the  desire  for  reformation,  without  which  ethical 
betterment  would  be  impossible.  Religion  warns 
the  sinner,  emphasizes  the  consequences  of  his 
folly,  and  urges  him  to  make  his  own  the  principles 
of  righteousness.  As  the  creator  of  high  ideals  no 

9  See  Thirty  Authors,  Hypnotism  and  Hypnotic  Suggestion,  p.  227ff.  Edited 
by  E.  Virgil  Neal  and  Charles  S.  Clark.  New  York  State  Publishing  Company. 

10  Coombs,  J.  V.:  Religious  Delusions,  p.  138.  The  Standard  Publishing  Com¬ 
pany. 

11  The  Psychology  of  Alcoholism,  p.  345.  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 


108  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

other  means  of  reformation  can  take  its  place. 
Suggestion  and  hypnotism  can  do  much,  but  they 
are  no  substitute  for  religion  as  a  creator  of  a  desire 
for  an  emancipation  from  ignorance,  from  the 
lower  instincts,  and  from  the  dominance  of  all  which 
tends  downward.  In  the  second  place,  religion  in 
its  organized  form  protects  the  life  that  has  been 
delivered  from  its  baser  impulses.  It  throws  about 
such  a  life  the  safeguards  of  healthful  and  power¬ 
ful  associations  that  make  a  moral  relapse  difficult. 
The  church  at  its  best  is  a  fellowship.  It  imparts 
information  and  inspiration,  promotes  the  devo¬ 
tional  attitude,  and  has  a  social  program.  In  a 
word,  religion  does  all  that  can  be  done  to  bring 
about  a  moral  change  for  the  better  and  to  conserve 
its  results. 


PRAYER  FOR  THE  CURE  OF  DISEASE 


Man’s  deep  concern  for  physical  efficiency  is 
often  expressed  in  the  prayer  for  the  healing  of 
disease.  Nothing  could  be  more  firmly  established 
than  the  efficacy  of  prayer  for  the  cure  of  certain 


A  fixation  of  the  attention,  faith  in  the  power  ap¬ 
pealed  to,  and  a  subconscious  response  are  common 
to  all  varieties  of  divine  and  mental  healing. 

The  principles  of  faith  cure. — That  cures  are 
wrought  through  the  power  of  prayer  no  one  who 
has  examined  the  evidence  can  doubt.  Relief  from 
a  depressed  physical  condition  is  obtained  through 
prayer  by  the  friends  of  most  of  us.  Typical  cases 
are  common.  Mr.  Torrey  offers  his  testimony. 
He  states  that  once  when  alone  in  his  study  he 


PERSONAL  PETITION AL  PRAYER  109 


seemed  to  become  suddenly  and  seriously  ill.  He 
was  in  such  severe  pain  that  he  was  unable  to  arise 
and  summon  help.  Fearing  that  he  would  be  left 
alone  and  unaided  for  an  entire  night  unless  he 
secured  strength  to  care  for  himself,  he  resorted 
to  prayer,  and  was  shortly  greatly  relieved.12  It 
would  be  easy  to  introduce  many  other  similar 
instances,  but  all  cases  are  reducible  to  the  same 
fundamental  principles. 

On  close  inspection  the  psychologist  is  led  to 
believe  that  all  such  cures  are  traceable  to  the 
effect  of  suggestion.  The  petition  for  healing  holds 
in  mental  focus  the  idea  of  recovery  and  restora¬ 
tion.  The  field  of  consciousness  is  restricted  to  the 
thought  of  health  to  the  exclusion  of  the  contrary 
ideas  of  disease.  Christian  Science  not  only  ex¬ 
horts  us  to  banish  all  thought  of  sickness  but  goes 
so  far  as  to  declare  the  nonexistence  of  disease  itself. 

It  is  an  undisputed  fact  in  mental  therapeutics 
that  the  expectation  of  the  cure  is  indispensable 
to  its  realization.  Dr.  H.  H.  Goddard,  who 
made  a  special  study  of  the  influence  of  the  mind 
upon  the  body  with  special  reference  to  faith  cures, 
discovered  that  in  all  forms  of  mental  healing 
there  is  the  same  and  constant  principle  that  the  — 
idea  of  health  tends  to  produce  health  in  propor¬ 
tion  to  the  strength  of  the  idea.13  It  is  the  patient’s 
faith  which  effects  the  cure.  The  power  of  recovery 
may  be  latent.  In  order  to  make  actual  the  po¬ 
tential  cure,  the  quickening  touch  of  faith  must 
be  supplied.  The  outcome  of  the  suggestion  does  s/ 
not  necessarily  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the 


12  Torrey,  R.  A.:  How  to  Pray,  p.  18.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 

13  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  vol.  x,  p.  43 iff. 


I IO 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


healing  power  believed  in,  but  upon  organic  activ¬ 
ities  aroused  by  expectation.  To  the  actual  heal¬ 
ing  of  their  diseases  men  have  believed  in  the  curative 
virtue  of  charms,  incantations,  sacred  relics,  amulets, 
the  imposition  of  hands,  the  royal  touch,  the  toe¬ 
nails  of  Saint  Peter,  fragments  of  the  cross,  the 
tears  of  the  Virgin,  the  bones  of  saints  long  dead, 
nostrums,  blue  glass,  magnetized  objects,  and 
what  not. 

That  there  is  a  reciprocal  relation  between  the 
conditions  of  the  body  and  the  attitudes  of  the 
mind  has  long  been  recognized  as  a  demonstrable 
fact.  The  body  tends  to  adjust  itself  to  mental 
states.  What  is  induced  mentally,  can  be  elim¬ 
inated  mentally.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  when  a 
bodily  disorder  is  the  direct  result  of  such  a  state 
of  mind  as  worry  and  anxiety,  only  a  complete 
mental  change  can  afford  relief.  A  bodily  condi¬ 
tion  which  is  anticipated  with  confidence  and 
certainty  is  likely  to  ensue,  if  it  be  within  the  bounds 
of  possibility.  This  is  a  law  which  is  equally  applic¬ 
able  to  the  cause  or  cure  of  disease  by  suggestion. 
However  the  thought  of  the  cure  enters  the  mind, 
if  it  be  dominant,  the  subconscious  which  controls 
the  bodily  functions  will  respond  to  the  measure 
of  its  power  to  restore  to  health.  Confident  expec¬ 
tation,  occupying  the  whole  mind  and  banishing 
contrary  and  competitive  ideas,  tends  to  realize 
itself  subconsciously. 

Illustrations  of  various  effects  of  suggestion. — 

The  following  parallel  to  the  mental  element  in 
the  answer  to  the  prayer  for  health  is  doubly  inter¬ 
esting  and  instructive,  for  it  shows  that  suggestion 
has  power  not  only  to  cure  but  also  to  make  ill. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER 


in 


“I  was  to  deliver  the  annual  address  before  a  college 
graduating  class.  When  I  arose  in  the  morning 
I  was  too  hoarse  to  speak.  What  must  I  do?  The 
students  depended  upon  me.  I  decided  to  resort 
to  quinine — went  to  a  drug  friend  and  asked  him 
for  twenty-five  cents’  worth  of  two-grain  capsules. 

I  went  to  my  room  and  began  to  take  the  capsules. 

In  two  hours  my  cold  was  breaking;  I  could  talk 
some,  and  I  was  wet  with  perspiration.  I  became 
alarmed  and  told  my  attendant  to  examine  the 
capsules  to  see  if  there  were  two  grains  in  them. 

On  examination  the  capsules  were  found  to  be 
empty.  The  druggist  thought  I  wanted  to  fill  the 
capsules  myself.  I  had  taken  no  quinine,  but  my 
cold  was  cured,  and  I  delivered  my  address.  .  .  . 
When  I  related  my  experience  with  the  empty  cap¬ 
sules  in  a  lecture  at  Lorain,  Ohio,  two  sisters  were 
much  amused.  They  came  to  me  and  told  me  this 
story:  The  nurse  prepared  some  capsules  for  the 
two  sisters  who  were  sick;  one  was  cured,  and  the 
other  was  made  sick  with  the  nasty  bitter  quinine. 

By  mistake  they  had  taken  the  empty  capsules.”14 

The  scope  of  faith  cure. — It  is  well  to  remember  ^ 
that  no  form  of  faith  cure,  functioning  through  the 
subconscious,  is  omnipotent.  There  are  limitations 
which  this  form  of  prayer  for  healing  cannot  tran¬ 
scend,  limitations  marked  by  those  of  suggestion. 
The  subconscious  is  not  an  inexhaustible  reservoir 
of  vitality.  Only  when  there  is  an  adequate  supply 
of  force  resident  within  the  personality  can  the 
suggested  idea  be  realized.  When  disease  has  im¬ 
paired  the  human  organism  below  a  certain  point, 

14  Coombs,  J.  V.:  Religious  Delusions,  p.  141.  The  Standard  Publishing  Com¬ 
pany. 


1 12 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


and  in  the  providence  of  God  life  has  run  its  course, 
the  prayer  for  health  is  unanswered,  be  it  ever  so 
persistently  held  in  mind  and  relied  upon  by  the 
patient.  It  is  appointed  unto  man  once  to  die. 
A  medical  practitioner  recently  remarked  that  if 
prayer  could  always  cure  us,  none  of  us  would 
ever  die. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  scope  of  prayer  in  the 
cure  of  disease  it  is  necessary  to  have  in  mind  the 
practical  classification  of  ailments  into  organic  and 
functional  disorders.  Organic  diseases  are  charac¬ 
terized  by  a  destruction  of  bodily  tissue.  Con¬ 
sumption  and  cancer  are  typical  organic  diseases. 
A  functional  ailment  is  occasioned  by  a  perverted 
action  of  the  intact  organs.  This  group  embraces 
the  many  nervous  and  gastric  derangements.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  over  and  over  again  that 
functional  diseases  are  directly  curable  through 
suggestion.  In  surgical  cases,  as  well  as  in  all  or¬ 
ganic  disorders,  suggestion  may,  to  be  sure,  create 
an  atmosphere  of  good  cheer  which  is  auxiliary  to 
the  cure.  Diseases  which  heal  of  their  own  accord, 
like  typhoid  and  pneumonia,  may  find  in  prayer 
a  tonic.  To  attempt  to  remove  through  prayer 
a  bullet  embedded  in  the  flesh  would  be  as  pre¬ 
posterous  as  to  throw  a  stone  into  the  water  with 
the  expectation  of  making  it  float  through  the 
power  of  suggestion. 

In  their  efforts  to  establish  their  claims  that 
organic  diseases  and  cases  usually  referred  to  the 
surgeon  are  curable  by  faith,  the  advocates  of  an 
extreme  form  of  divine  healing  have  displayed  more 
heat  than  light.  As  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able 
to  determine,  the  alleged  proofs  for  the  validity 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  113 


of  their  so-called  test-cases  have  been  uniformly 
exploded  when  critically  investigated.  Many  cases 
considered  organic  have  not  been  diagnosed  as  such 
by  a  competent  physician.  Other  cases  pronounced 
organic  by  a  fallible  medical  man  are  later  dis¬ 
covered  to  be  purely  functional.  Again,  some 
organic  disorders  heal  spontaneously,  and  all  that 
mental  treatment  can  do,  which  is  really  very 
much,  is  to  act  as  a  tonic  for  the  mind.  Further¬ 
more,  some  patients  under  proper  treatment  for 
organic  diseases  become  restive  because  recovery 
seems  retarded,  and  resort  to  some  form  of  faith 
cure  in  the  course  of  which  health  is  restored.  Of 
course  the  mental  practice  receives  the  credit  which 
rightfully  belongs  to  the  regular  medical  method. 

As  an  example  of  the  lack  of  scientific  precision 
that  generally  obtains  in  the  collecting  of  test- 
cases  revealing  evidence  of  the  power  of  prayer  to 
cure  organic  cases,  the  following  is  illuminating: 
A  surgeon  bandaged  the  broken  arm  of  a  boy  ten 
years  old.  The  following  morning  the  boy  aaid 
to  his  father,  “ Please  take  off  these  bandages, 
my  arm  is  well.”  “Oh  no,  my  son,  you  will  have 
to  wear  the  splints  several  weeks.”  “Papa,  do  you 
believe  in  prayer?  Last  night  I  asked  Jesus  to 
cure  my  arm  and  he  did  it.”  The  bandages  were 
removed  and  the  arm  was  found  to  be  perfectly 
well.  The  case  was  widely  circulated  as  an  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  remarkable  power  of  prayer,  but  inves¬ 
tigation  proved  it  to  be  spurious.  The  patient  is 
now  a  physician,  and  in  a  signed  statement  says 
that  the  broken  arm  was  only  a  green-stick  fracture, 
and  after  having  it  bandaged  for  several  days  the 
splints  were  removed  to  please  a  spoiled  boy.  The 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


1 14 

bone  would  have  united  of  its  own  accord  in  a  few 
days.  The  arm  was  carried  in  a  sling  for  several 
days  after  the  removal  of  the  bandage.  This  is 
the  miracle  which  had  its  inception  in  the  mind  of 
a  religious  enthusiast.15 

Christian  Science  is  particularly  stubborn  in  its 
insistence  that  it  is  the  wonderful  exception  to  the 
rule  of  curative  limitation.  Dr.  Richard  C.  Cabot 
examined  one  hundred  consecutive  reports  of  the 
cases  cured  as  published  in  the  Christian  Science 
Journal .16  His  findings  disclose  that  the  majority 
of  these  cases,  according  to  symptoms  reported, 
are  functional.  Nervousness,  kidney  and  bladder 
trouble,  stomach  and  intestinal  disorders,  drug 
and  tobacco  habits,  headache  and  alcoholism  are 
some  of  the  functional  ailments  reported  cured. 
Seven  cases  were  apparently  organic,  but  some  of 
these  were  inadequately  diagnosed,  while  others 
were  such  as  heal  of  their  own  accord,  like  cuts  and 
bruises.  Dr.  Cabot  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  by  a  process  of  natural  selection  the  patients 
who  are  attracted  by  Christian  Science  are  as  a 
rule  affected  functionally.  The  functional  dis¬ 
turbance  renders  the  patient  susceptible  to  the 
methods  of  the  mind  curist. 

Prayer  and  science. — What  is  called  the  Em¬ 
manuel  Movement  is  a  commendable  organized  at¬ 
tempt  to  unite  intelligent  religion  and  scientific  med¬ 
ical  treatment.17  Dr.  S.  McComb,  who  was  associ¬ 
ated  with  Dr.  Worcester  in  this  movement,  calls  at¬ 
tention  to  three  essential  features  in  which  this  un- 

15  Coombs,  J.  V.:  Religious  Delusions,  pp.  147-148.  The  Standard  Publishing 
Company. 

18  McClure,  August,  1908. 

17  See  Worcester,  E.:  Religion  and  Medicine,  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  and  The 
Christian  Religion  as  a  Healing  Power,  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  115 


dertaking  differs  from  Christian  Science.  In  the 
first  place,  unlike  Christian  Science,  this  movement 
could  not  maintain  itself  for  a  single  day  without 
the  cooperation  of  a  staff  of  physicians.  In  the 
second  place,  whereas  Eddyism  professes  to  be  a 
distinct  revealed  religion  with  a  sacred  book  and 
a  curative  method  of  its  own,  the  Emmanuel  Move¬ 
ment  affects  no  special  revelation,  but  accepts  as 
its  theological  basis  the  New  Testament  as  inter¬ 
preted  by  constructive  modern  scholarship,  and 
adopts  the  procedures  common  to  all  scientific 
mental  treatment,  such  as  suggestion,  confession, 
the  rest  cure,  the  work  cure,  and  especially  prayer 
and  instruction  in  religion  and  morals.  In  the 
third  place,  it  differs  from  Christian  Science  in 
accepting  for  mental  methods  only  functional 
derangements,  looking  to  medical,  physiological, 
and  surgical  treatment  for  the  cure  of  organic 
diseases.  Far  from  assuming  the  function  of  the 
medical  profession,  the  clergymen  at  the  head  of 
this  undertaking  tend  to  restrict  their  efforts  to 
such  cases  of  functional  disorders  as  require  reli¬ 
gious  and  moral  uplift  for  their  cure.  Dr.  McComb 
refers  to  a  nervous  sufferer  who  said,  “Prove  to  me 
that  God  loves  me,  and  I  will  leave  this  place  a  well 
man.” 

In  such  intelligent  and  devout  ways  the  church, 
must  minister  to  the  sick  as  she  alone  can,  or  let 
her  people  become  the  prey  of  the  charlatans  always 
coming  to  the  fore. 

PRAYER  EOR  DIVINE  GUIDANCE 

A  large  group  of  prayers  the  burden  of  which 
is  a  cry  for  deliverance  out  of  a  perplexity  will  now 


n6 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


receive  attention.  The  answers  to  this  type  of 
petition  range  all  the  way  from  a  mental  poise 
enabling  the  person  to  solve  his  problem  through 
the  ordinary  process  of  reasoning  or  action,  to  an 
inward  illumination  coming  with  all  the  force  of 
a  divine  revelation. 

Prayer  and  poise. — Often  the  mental  repose 
attained  in  prayer  is  the  chief  condition  necessary 
to  a  proper  readjustment  of  the  person.  A  re¬ 
spondent  writes,  “Many  times  prayer  calms  the 
heart  and  mind  so  that  the  person  can  think  of  a 
way.”  To  believe  in  the  prayer  for  divine  help 
inspires  the  personality  with  a  confidence  which 
banishes  all  fear  and  worry  and  other  mental  states 
which  obscure  a  dispassionate  view  of  a  difficulty 
and  inhibit  any  effort  to  overcome  it.  The  expecta¬ 
tion  of  the  cooperation  of  a  mighty  helper  often 
constructs  a  personality  competent  to  do  what 
one  asks  God  to  accomplish  for  one  in  a  mysterious 
and  miraculous  way.  A  Methodist  bishop  said  in  a 
public  address  that  he  prayed  for  wisdom  and 
insight  into  the  duties  of  episcopal  administration, 
and  then  relied  upon  his  own  best  judgment  in 
making  the  annual  appointments  of  preachers  to  the 
churches. 

The  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday  says  that  prayer  helped 
him  in  his  first  ball  game  after  his  conversion. 
At  a  critical  point  in  the  game  a  fly  came  to  him  in 
the  field.  He  says:  “It  was  up  to  me.  I  turned 
and  ran  with  all  my  might  and  said,  ‘O  God!  if  you 
ever  helped  a  mortal  man  in  your  life,  help  me  get 
that  ball,  and  you  haven’t  much  time  to  decide.’ 
I  looked  over  my  shoulder  and  saw  the  ball  near — 
I  shot  out  my  left  hand,  and  the  ball  struck  and 


PERSONAL  PETITION AL  PRAYER 


ii  7 

stuck.”  Perhaps  the  answer  to  this  prayer  was  a  / 
release  from  fear  and  the  creation  of  confidence, 
which  induced  effective  muscular  control.18 

Of  a  similar  nature  is  the  psychological  element 
of  a  prayer  made  by  a  young  girl,  Jennie  Creek, 
in  a  moment  fraught  with  peril  for  many  lives. 
Discovering  a  burning  railroad  bridge,  hearing  the 
whistle  of*  the  eastbound  Chicago  express  with  its 
load  of  passengers  from  the  World’s  Fair  thunder¬ 
ing  along  to  certain  destruction,  and  realizing  that 
she  must  somehow  stop  the  train,  she  cried  out  in 
her  agony:  “Lord  Jesus,  help  me.  Tell  me  what 
to  do.”  She  knew  that  a  red  flag  was  the  sign  of 
danger.  Remembering  her  underskirt  of  red  flannel, 
she  tore  off  the  petticoat  and  ran  toward  the  train, 
waving  the  garment  and  shouting.  In  an  instant 
the  signal  flashed  into  the  eye  of  the  engineer,  and 
the  train  was  brought  to  a  standstill  on  the  very 
brink  of  ruin,  but  safe.19 

Prayer  and  unconscious  memory. — Other  prayers 
for  divine  help  induce  an  impulse,  rather  irrational 
in  nature  but  strong  enough  to  incite  activity,  in 
the  direction  of  the  answer.  Recently  a  case  in 
point  was  reported.  A  young  farmer  while  plowing 
in  an  immense  field  lost  a  monkey  wrench.  When 
the  tool  was  needed  to  adjust  the  plow  its  loss  was 
discovered.  He  walked  back  half  a  mile  in  the 
furrow,  but  failed  to  find  it.  To  have  returned  to 
the  farm  house  three  miles  away  would  have  en¬ 
tailed  a  great  loss  of  time;  hence  the  predicament 
was  made  the  subject  of  prayer.  In  response  to 


18  Cited  in  Pratt,  J.  B.:  American  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology  and  Educa¬ 
tion,  vol.  iv,  p.  58. 

19  Cf.  Pope,  Howard  W.:  Why  a  Girl  Should  he  a  Christian,  a  tract. 


ii8  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


an  impulse  he  stepped  across  three  furrows,  kick¬ 
ing  up  the  wrench.  The  psychological  phase  of 
this  experience  is  reducible  to  what  is  known  as 
subconscious  perception  and  its  stimulation,  a  more 
detailed  account  of  which  must  be  reserved  for  the 
following  chapter.  For  the  present  it  will  suffice 
to  say  that  an  impulse  to  act  is  often  excited  by 
factors  too  delicate  to  be  noted  by  clear  conscious¬ 
ness.  Doubtless  the  falling  of  the  tool  was  not 
clearly  heard  or  seen,  but  was  subconsciously 
registered.  Perhaps  the  prayer  stimulated  the  sub¬ 
conscious  impressions,  which,  in  turn,  gave  rise  to 
the  impulse  to  walk  to  where  the  wrench  was. 

Doubtless  the  prompting  is  frequently  created 
by  a  dormant  memory  that  cannot  quite  express 
itself  in  the  form  of  definite  recollection.  Miss  A. 
L.  Strong  records  an  interesting  illustration.  A 
college  woman  lost  a  notebook  which  she  desired 
to  make  use  of  in  preparation  for  an  examination. 
In  her  concern  she  made  the  loss  a  matter  of  prayer 
saying:  “If  it  is  your  will  that  I  try  the  examination 
without  this  book,  as  a  punishment  for  my  care¬ 
lessness,  very  well.”  Immediately  she  felt  an 
unaccountable  impulse  to  visit  a  certain  village 
store.  She  yielded  to  the  inner  prompting.  As 
she  entered  the  store  the  salesman  approached  her 
with  the  book  in  his  hand,  saying,  “You  left  this 
here  ten  days  ago,  and  I  could  not  send  it,  not 
knowing  your  address.”  It  was  not  until  then  that 
a  special  visit  to  the  store  was  recalled.  The  prayer 
in  this  instance  was  an  expression  of  resignation 
to  the  permanent  loss  of  the  notebook  as  a  punish¬ 
ment  for  carelessness,  rather  than  a  pronounced, 
unwavering  petition  for  its  recovery.  The  case 


PERSONAL  PETITION AL  PRAYER  119 


is  analogous  to  the  recollection  of  a  name  by  aban¬ 
doning  the  effort  to  recall  it.20 

Guidance  by  voices  and  visions. — Sometimes  the 
answer  to  this  type  of  prayer  comes  in  the  form  of 
subconscious  action  exploded  into  consciousness 
with  the  force  of  an  external  impression.  A  woman 
who  resided  in  the  West  reported  that  she  received 
a  telegram  stating  that  her  mother  in  the  East  was 
critically  ill  and  that  recovery  was  doubtful.  Strange 
to  say,  the  daughter  could  not  decide  whether  to 
remain  at  home  or  to  hasten  to  her  mother’s  side.  On 
the  one  hand,  she  was  pressed  by  the  entertaining  of 
guests,  household  duties,  and  lack  of  funds  for  an 
extensive  journey.  On  the  other  hand,  the  natural 
impulse  of  a  daughter  to  nurse  her  mother  in  what 
might  prove  to  be  her  last  illness  was  almost  irre¬ 
sistible.  Torn  asunder  by  conflicting  thoughts,  she 
resorted  to  prayer,  believing  that  her  plea  for  light 
would  be  answered.  A  few  days  later  while  washing  u 
some  dishes  and  occupying  her  mind  with  matters  far 
removed  from  prayer,  a  vivid  flash  of  insight  made 
it  clear  to  her  that  it  was  her  duty  to  remain  at 
home.  The  problem  solved,  she  regained  her  mental 
poise,  resting  content  in  the  knowledge  that  rela¬ 
tives  in  the  East  would  give  her  mother  the  best 
of  care.  The  case  clearly  discloses  the  essentials  L 
of  suggestion;  a  narrowing  of  the  field  of  conscious¬ 
ness,  faith,  a  period  of  subconscious  incubation,  a 
sudden  report  when  an  attitude  of  passivity  was 
assumed. 

The  following  experience  is  analogous:  “When  at 
school  I  was  fond  of  trying  my  hand  at  geometrical 
problems.  One  baffled  me.  I  often  returned  to  it, 


20  Strong,  A.  L.;  The  Psychology  of  Prayer,  p.  55-  The  University  of  Chicago  Press. 


120 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


in  fact,  I  kept  by  me  an  elaborate  figure.  Some  years 
after,  and  when  the  problem  had  not  been  touched 
by  me  for  some  time,  I  had  been  sitting  up  till  the 
small  hours,  deciphering  a  cryptograph  for  one  of 
my  pupils.  Exulting  in  the  successful  solution, 
I  turned  into  bed;  and  suddenly  there  flashed  across 
my  mind  the  secret  of  the  solution  of  the  problem 
with  which  I  had  so  long  vainly  dealt,  this  secret 
being  a  slight  addition  to  my  elaborate  figure.  The 
effect  on  me  was  strange.  I  trembled,  as  if  in  the 
presence  of  another  being  who  had  communicated 
the  secret  to  me.”21 

Another  analogy  is  the  experience  of  Socrates 
and  his  daimon.  It  will  be  recalled  that  the  great 
philosopher,  throughout  his  whole  life,  was  con¬ 
scious,  on  certain  occasions,  of  a  divine  sign,  a  voice, 
that  he  called  his  daimon .  It  assumed  for  him  the 
influence  of  an  external  higher  revelation.  Its 
power  was  negative  and  never  positive.  It  did 
not  manifest  itself  when  an  apparently  proper 
course  of  action  was  about  to  be  or  was  being  pur¬ 
sued;  only  when  he  was  about  to  disregard  his 
deepest  moral  insight  did  it  exercise  its  restraining 
influence.  To  hold  in  mental  focus  an  idea  of 
ethical  import  was  characteristic  of  him;  he  was 
known  to  have  been  absorbed  in  contemplation 
for  a  whole  day  at  a  time.  “What  distinguished 
Socrates  in  his  general  conduct  from  his  fellow- 
citizens  was  his  power  of  inward  concentration.”22 
v/His  absolute  confidence  in  the  reliability  of  the 
daimon  was  in  reality  the  casting  of  himself  upon 
his  own  inward  and  spiritual  powers,  in  response 


21  Cited  in  Carpenter,  W.  B.:  Mental  Physiology,  p.  536.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

22  Zeller,  E.:  Socrates  and  the  Socralic  School,  p.  97.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  121 


to  which  there  rushed  up  from  the  subconscious 
currents  an  ethical  insight  in  the  form  of  an  audi¬ 
tory  experience. 

Temperament  and  prayer  response. — In  this  con-  ^ 
nection  it  is  well  to  note  that  Professor  Coe  in  an 
inductive  study  of  the  influence  of  temperament 
in  religion,  finds  that  those  who  have  voices  and 
visions  in  their  religious  life  are  subject  to  them 
in  other  respects.23  Where  there  is  a  predisposition 
to  them  in  general,  the  prayer  relation  is  likely  to 
be  characterized  by  mental  projections  in  various 
forms.  This  is,  however,  not  the  place  to  attempt 
an  extended  description  of  such  mental  states, 
but  merely  to  point  out  that  the  sanguine  and 
melancholic  temperaments,  accompanied  as  they  are 
by  an  abundance  of  emotion  and  a  high  degree  of 
suggestibility,  are  subject  to  voices  and  visions 
of  both  religious  and  nonreligious  significance. 
Where  favorable  temperamental  conditions,  con¬ 
centration  of  the  mind  upon  certain  groups  of  ideas, 
and  expectation  obtain,  the  visible  or  audible  an¬ 
swer  to  prayer  is  usually  forthcoming.24 

The  form  of  the  exteriorized  idea  is,  perhaps, 
largely  determined  by  the  type  or  types  of  mental 
imagery  predominating  in  the  individual.  Where 
the  imagination  is  principally  in  the  form  of  mental 
pictures  seen  by  the  mind’s  eye,  the  experience 
is  likely  to  be  visual;  where  the  mental  imagery  is 
in  terms  of  sounds,  the  person  hears  voices.  Socrates, 
since  the  oracle  was  audible,  must  have  been  largely 
ear-minded.  Where  both  the  visual  and  the  audi¬ 
tory  types  are  found  together  in  the  same  person, 


13  See  Coe,  G.  A.:  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  1045.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 
24  See  Parish,  E.:  Hallucinations  and  Illusions.  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 


122 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER  - 


as  they  almost  invariably  are,  the  temperamentally 
predisposed  person  is  likely  to  see  visions  which 
speak. 

SUMMARY 

We  are  now  prepared  to  appreciate  the  presence 
and  the  importance  of  the  psychological  aspects 
of  the  personal  petitional  prayer.  We  have  .ob¬ 
served  that  attention  in  prayer  is  a  basal  condi¬ 
tion.  The  concentration  of  the  mind  is  not  only 
selective,  narrowing  the  field  of  consciousness  to 
the  group  of  prayer  ideas,  but  also,  by  excluding 
contrary  notions,  productive  of  the  faith  state. 
Other  elements  also  arouse  and  increase  faith.  At 
first,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  faith  strives 
toward  the  realization  of  the  prayer,  and  then 
becomes  passive  in  order  that  the  answer  may  come 
to  completion  and  be  the  conscious  possession  of 
the  self.  The  prayer  held  in  mental  focus  and 
believed  in  constitutes  an  appeal  to  the  mental 
and  religious  powers.  The  answer  to  prayer  ranges 
all  the  way  from  the  calming  of  an  excited  and  dis¬ 
tressed  mind  or  the  elevation  of  a  depressed  spirit 
to  an  actual  moral  and  religious  rebirth  of  the  self. 

It  should  be  clear  that  prayer  is  infinitely  more 
than  the  elements  of  suggestion  it  includes.  Sug¬ 
gestion  is,  indeed,  prominent  in  petitions,  but 
\  prayer  is  assuredly  more  than  a  mental  impression 
which  discharges  itself  subconsciously.  Prayer  is 
religiously  motivated,  sanctioned,  and  controlled. 
The  religious  consciousness  creates  suggestion,  suf¬ 
fuses  it  with  religious  emotion,  imparts  to  it  a 
religions  <  significance,  and  interprets  its  results 
religiously.  The  petition  is  addressed  directly  to 


PERSONAL  PETITIONAL  PRAYER  123 


God  who  is  rightfully  acknowledged  _  to  be  the 
grantor  or  withholder  of  the  request. 

The  reaches  of  religious  experience  transcend  the 
discoverable  and  identifiable  psychological  elements. 
Suggestion  is  the  means  which  petitional  prayer 
constructs  and  employs  to  further  its  ends.  Prayer 
is  human  striving  plus  x ,  the  value  of  x  being  the 
illuminating  and  purifying  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
whom  no  psychological  terminology  can  define  or 
limit.  There  is  no  cogent  reason  for  assuming  that  ^ 
a  psychological  account  of  prayer  includes  the 
experience  in  its  totality.  The  heart  of  prayer 
eludes  the  categories  of  Science.  To  the  scientific 
method  of  studying  religion  should  be  added  the 
outlook  and  the  insight  of  a  sound  '  philosophy. 
Science  should  not  presume  to  exclude  Christian 
doctrine  from  the  field  of  religious  experience. 
Christian  prayer  arises  from  an  appreciation  of  a 
personal  relation  to  God  ,as  our  Father.  It  is  the 
creative  energy  of  God  within  man  which  induces 
and  supports  the  process  of  suggestion  and  trans¬ 
forms  it  into  a  spiritual  force. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  ANSWER  TO  COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 

As  observed  elsewhere,  the  petitional  prayers 
may  be  divided  into  two  large  classes,  the  one 
class  consisting  of  those  answered  through  the 
religious  forces  of  the  self,  and  the  other  consisting 
of  those  answered  through  the  cooperation  of 
another  self.  We  have  studied  the  first  class,  but 
now  it  is  our  task  to  examine  the  second.  We  shall 
presently  understand  that  the  prayer  designed  to 
influence  another  tends  to  create  a  religious-social 
suggestion.  Social  suggestion  is,  then,  the  prom¬ 
inent  psychological  mechanism  of  all  prayers  in¬ 
volving  the  concurrent  activities  of  two  or  more 
selves. 

The  two  classes  of  petitions  are  closely  related. 

‘  The  prayer  coming  from  the  heart  of  one  person 
may  enter  the  mind  of  another  and  there  undergo 
a  series  of  modifications  which  entirely  transmute  it. 
The  petition  answered  through  the  self  may  have 
had  its  origin  only  immediately  in  the  mind  of  the 
petitioner;  more  remotely  it  may  have  sprung 
/warm  from  the  life  of  another.  It  is  evident  that 
any  prayer  which  may  be  answered  through  a  peti¬ 
tioning  self  may  also  be  answered  through  a  co¬ 
operating  self,  answers  being  frequently  obtainable 
to  the  prayers  for  the  conversion  of  others,  their 
moral  betterment,  physical  healing,  and  divine 
guidance.  Since  they  have  already  been  described, 

124 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


125 


it  will  not  be  necessary  to  examine  in  detail  the 
responses  to  these  forms  of  altruistic  and  inter¬ 
cessory  petitions. 

The  answers  to  the  cooperative  petition  may  be 
reduced  to  two  groups,  the  first  consisting  of  the 
answers  to  prayers  of  which  the  responding  self 
has  definite  knowledge,  and  the  second  consisting 
of  the  answers  to  petitions  of  which  the  contributing 
self  has  no  conscious  knowledge. 

THE  ANSWER  TO  THE  KNOWN  COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 

One  listens  to  a  prayer  for  material  aid  or  for  an 
active  interest  in  a  good  cause  and  is  moved  to 
answer  the  appeal,  or  hears  a  prayer  imparting 
wisdom  and  encouragement  and  is  cheered  and 
inspired.  A  religious  force  plays  upon  the  selfT" 
inducing  a  practical  reaction  to  an  entreaty  for 
substance  or  personal  devotion,  or  informing  and 
edifying  one.  In  such  cases  prayer  includes  a 
social  suggestion  created  by  the  religious  impulse 
of  the  petitioning  self  and  received  by  the  respond¬ 
ing  self.  An  impression  is  created  in  another  which 
tends  to  realize  itself  through  the  religious  forces 
of  the  self.  The  effect  of  such  a  prayer  is  deter¬ 
mined  both  by  the  willingness  and  by  the  ability 
of  the  cooperating  self. 

KNOWN  PRAYERS  FOR  SUBSTANCE  AND  ACTION 

Petitions  for  things  within  the  gift  of  others, 
such  as  money  and  energy,  may  be  answered  by 
letting  others  know  of  the  need  and  of  the 
dependence  upon  the  prayer  for  its  supply.  The 
measure  of  the  response  is  conditioned  by  the  gener¬ 
osity  and  means,  or  the  intelligence,  willingness,  and 


126 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


capabilities,  of  those  who  hear  the  petition  or  know 
of  it. 

Prayers  for  material  aid. — Orphanages  and  other 
charitable  institutions  have  been  successfully  con¬ 
ducted  by  superintendents  relying  solely  upon 
prayer  to  supply  the  necessary  funds.1  It  is  reported 
that  the  Open  Door  Mission  in  Chicago  feeds  and 
lodges  six  hundred  to  seven  hundred  men,  without 
soliciting  human  aid.  The  China  Inland  Mission 
receives  applications  from  suitable  persons,  such  as 
ministers,  physicians,  nurses,  and  teachers,  without 
any  restrictions  of  sex  or  number,  who,  having  com¬ 
mended  themselves  to  the  Mission,  are  sent  to 
China  as  speedily  as  prayers  for  the  necessary  funds 
are  answered.  This  organization  is  maintained 
entirely  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  its  friends, 
no  funds  being  directly  solicited.  The  sole  reliance 
is  upon  prayer.  The  nature  of  such  benevolent 
causes  and  the  fact  that  it  is  generally  known  that 
they  are  dependent  upon  the  liberality  of  the  public 
for  their  support,  make  their  own  irresistible  appeal. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  circumstances  more 
conducive  to  the  arousing  of  the  social  sympathies. 

Sometimes  the  social  prayer  is  made  for  the 
purpose  of  inducing  immediate  action,  as  when 
a  minister  prays  that  the  congregation  contribute 
liberally  toward  some  benevolence  for  which  sub¬ 
scriptions  are  about  to  be  taken.  A  minister  relates 
that  when  about  to  dedicate  a  newly  erected  church 
he  requested  the  help  of  a  pastor  who  was  noted 
for  his  ability  to  collect  money  and  take  subscrip¬ 
tions.  On  the  eve  of  dedication  the  pastor  called 
the  officiary  of  the  church  together  for  consultation 


1  See  Muller,  George:  The  Life  of  Trust.  T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


127 


and  financial  support.  The  officials  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  entreaties  of  both  the  pastor  and 
the  quasi-professional  money-getter  for  substantial 
pledges.  As  a  last  resort  the  assisting  pastor  led 
the  group  in  prayer,  beseeching  God  to  enlighten 
them  as  to  the  importance  of  the  church  and  to 
inspire  them  with  the  spirit  of  sacrifice.  They  were 
moved  to  tears,  and  after  the  prayer  so  generously 
responded  that  the  church  could  be  dedicated  with¬ 
out  debt  the  following  day. 

It  is  unpsychological  to  arouse  benevolent  im¬ 
pulses  only  to  deny  them  outward  expression. 
Repeated  stimulation  without  action  leads  to  the 
pernicious  habit  of  allowing  good  intentions  to 
evaporate.  It  weakens  the  will.  The  wise  clergy¬ 
man,  for  instance,  offers  prayer  before  the  collec¬ 
tion  is  taken,  thus  not  only  quickening  the  generosity 
of  the  people,  but  also  affording  them  an  immediate 
opportunity  to  give  it  a  concrete  manifestation. 
To  pray  save  as  an  expression  of  thanksgiving, 
after  the  offering  has  been  taken,  is  to  make  a  subtle 
appeal  without  permitting  a  practical  response. 

Prayers  for  the  control  of  action. — The  prayer 
for  the  active  participation  of  others  in  the  work 
of  the  church  or  any  other  uplifting  cause  is  the 
most  effective  appeal  which  could  be  made.  The 
petition  is  an  indirect  solicitation,  an  appeal  in  the 
name  of  religious  and  humanitarian  concerns,  which 
arouses  the  noblest  in  man.  That  faith  in  this 
form  of  religious  control  is  times  without  number 
rewarded  by  positive  results  should  occasion  no 
surprise. 

There  is  marvelous  wisdom  revealed  in  the 
injunction  of  Jesus,  “The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous, 


128 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


but  the  laborers  are  few;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  laborers  into 
his  harvest.”2  This  saying  was  taken  seriously  by 
the  superintendent  of  a  Junior  League  who  peti¬ 
tioned  God  to  send  her  teachers  to  assist  in  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  children  under  her 
supervision.  She  arose  from  her  knees  under  the 
conviction  that  if  she  went  into  the  street,  her 
prayer  would  be  answered.  She  obeyed  the  impulse, 
but  failed  to  enlist  anyone  in  the  street.  She  then 
felt  moved  to  enter  a  home  where  a  young  woman 
resided  with  whom  she  was  acquainted.  When 
informed  that  her  friend  was  not  at  home,  the 
religious  worker  requested  the  mother  to  interest 
the  absent  daughter  in  the  Junior  League.  The 
mother  reluctantly  consented,  maintaining  that 
her  daughter  was  occupied  by  too  many  other 
things  to  assume  added  responsibility.  Entering 
a  second  home,  the  superintendent  met  with  another 
disappointment.  The  young  woman  solicited  re¬ 
fused  her  services  on  the  grounds  of  pressing  social 
engagements.  The  petitioner  returned  home  in 
a  confused  state  of  mind,  for  she  had  confidently 
expected  a  more  hearty  response  to  her  appeal  in 
answer  to  her  prayer.  She  was,  however,  agreeably 
surprised  when  after  a  few  weeks  both  young  women 
reported  for  duty  as  volunteer  teachers. 

When  others  were  approached  with  the  request 
the  petition  assumed  the  form  of  a  religious-social 
suggestion.  It  is  of  interest  to  notice  that  in  the 
first  home  entered  the  request  was  lodged  in  the 
mind  of  the  young  woman  through  the  medium 
of  the  mother,  .thus  bringing  into  cooperation  two 


*  Matthew  9:  37-38. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


129 


other  selves.  In  the  other  home  the  appeal  was 
directly  made.  The  indirect  and  the  direct  appeal 
developed  within  both  minds  a  practical  response. 
Within  a  few  weeks  antagonistic  inclinations  gave 
way  to  the  call  to  high  service. 

A  Methodist  layman  in  a  letter  to  his  son  pre¬ 
paring  himself  for  the  Christian  ministry,  says: 
“You  are  our  first-born,  and  in  a  tender  moment 
we  dedicated  you  to  the  ministry  in  the  church  in 
which  your  mother  was  reared  and  at  whose  altars 
I  was  converted.  .  .  .  Your  mother  and  I,  before 
you  were  an  hour  old,  prayed  that  God  would 
choose  you  to  be  one  of  his  ministers.  You  know 
that  we  have  not  forced  you  to  enter  the  ministry, 
or  even  urged  you.”3  The  prayer  of  dedication,  fol¬ 
lowed,  as  it  doubtless  was,  by  numberless  inter¬ 
cessions,  wove  itself  into  the  texture  of  the  son’s 
character  and  was  influential  in  turning  him  toward 
the  ministry  as  a  calling. 

KNOWN  INSTRUCTIONAL  AND  HORTATORY  PRAYER 

Many  social  prayers  seem  to  have  a  didactic 
or  inspirational  purpose.  They  are  formally  ad¬ 
dressed  to  God,  but  they  also  instruct  and  admon¬ 
ish  men.  Springing  from  an  altruistic  motive,  they 
are  not  designed  to  secure  the  substance  of  others 
but  to  widen  the  vision,  comfort  and  encourage 
those  who  hear  them.  In  the  name  of  religion  they 
move  men  for  their  own  good. 

Pulpit  prayer. — Truly  edifying  and  uplifting  is 
the  pulpit  prayer  which  wells  up  spontaneously 
from  the  deeps  of  a  sincere  and  intelligent  heart, 

3  Allen,  Robert:  Letters  of  an  Old  Methodist  to  His  Son  in  the  Ministry,  p.  15. 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


130 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


and  voices  the  common  supplications  and  aspira¬ 
tions  of  the  worshiping  congregation.  It  is 
refreshing  and  life-giving.  The  gift  of  public  prayer 
is  perhaps  rarer  than  that  of  preaching.  If  it  were 
intended  to  influence  God  only,  and  not  also  man, 
the  minister  might  be  content  to  pray  for  the 
congregation  in  the  privacy  of  his  study.  As  it  is 
— and  it  is  as  it  should  be — the  pulpit  prayer  as  a 
warm  appreciation  of  religious  values  moves  through 
the  pulses  of  the  people,  quickening  every  spir¬ 
itual  perception  and  deepening  every  holy  resolve. 
Note  the  union  of  devotional  and  ethical  elements 
in  the  following  felicitously  expressed  paragraph 
from  one  of  the  many  deeply  spiritual  pulpit  prayers 
of  Alexander  Maclaren: 

“We  pray  thee  to  forgive  all  the  shortcomings  ^ 
and  the  failures  to  hold  fast  that  which  we  have, 
and  to  live  by  that  which  we  know.  We  pray  thee 
to  cleanse  our  hearts  from  all  their  waywardness, 
and  all  their  wanderings,  and  to  fix  them  upon 
thyself.  We  beseech  thee  that  more  and  more  it 
may  to  us  be  Christ  to  live,  that  his  name  may 
ever  be  dearest  to  us,  and  shrined  in  the  very  depths 
of  our  heart’s  love;  that  his  commandments  may 
be  our  supreme  law,  and  to  please  him  our  highest 

•  >  yd 

aim. 

Great  as  Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  as  a  preacher, 
he  was  even  greater  as  a  man  of  public  prayer. 

So  profoundly  did  his  pulpit  prayers  move  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  the  congregation  that  the 
sermon  which  followed,  eloquent  as  it  was,  often 
seemed  superfluous.  They  were  replete  with  the 
simplicity  of  genuineness,  a  sympathy  that  em- 


4  Maclaren,  Alexander:  Pulpit  Prayers,  p.  94.  George  H.  Doran  Company. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


131 

braced  all  the  varied  conditions  of  men,  and  a  keen 
sense  of  justice  and  equity.  The  following  Sabbath 
invocation  is  typical  of  his  style  and  sentiment: 

“We  thank  thee  that  we  have  come  together 
again  this  morning,  after  the  labor  of  the  week 
and  its  weariness.  Grant  that  we  may  have  a 
settled  peace — that  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all 
understanding.  May  we  yield  ourselves  up  to  him 
implicitly.  May  we  rejoice  that  his  will  is  better 
than  ours.  And  amidst  thwartings  and  castings 
down,  and  disappointments,  let  us  not  feel  that 
our  life  is  lost,  or  that  we  are  losing  it.  May  we  be 
able  to  say,  in  all  events,  ‘The  will  of  the  Lord  be 
done.’  If  we  are  weakened  by  excess  of  sorrow, 
or  if  our  eyes  are  dim  that  we  cannot  see,  or  if  we 
have  lost  the  way  and  know  not  how  to  find  it, 
O  Lord  God  of  our  salvation,  be  merciful  to  us  and 
look  upon  our  weakness,  and  in  thine  infinite  com¬ 
passion  revive  us  again,  and  put  us  upon  our  feet, 
and  let  us  hear  the  voice,  though  it  be  in  darkness, 
saying,  ‘This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it.’  ”5 

Other  public  prayers. — The  sectarian  element  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum  and  the  ethical  aspect  of 
religion  magnified  in  the  prayers  of  the  chaplains 
of  fraternal,  military,  governmental,  and  other  non- 
ecclesiastical  organizations.  The  fundamental  reli¬ 
gious  conceptions  common  to  the  great  body  of 
spiritually  minded  people  are  introduced  as  the 
ground  and  motive  of  right  social  relationships. 
By  way  of  illustration  one  may  quote  a  few  para¬ 
graphs  from  a  prayer  offered  by  Chaplain  Henry 
N.  Couden  at  the  opening  of  the  second  session  of 


s  Handford,  Thomas  W.:  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  p.  263.  Belford,  Clark  &  Co. 


132 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  sixty-second 
Congress  of  the  United  States: 

“Impress  us,  we  beseech  thee,  with  the  vast 
responsibility  resting  upon  us  as  a  people,  that 
we  may  prove  ourselves  worthy  of  the  confidence 
reposed  in  us,  and  distinguish  clearly  between 
liberty  and  justice,  freedom  and  license,  purity  and 
impurity  in  the  things  which  make  for  good  citizen¬ 
ship,  that  we  may  work  together  with  thee  toward 
the  higher  and  better  forms  of  life  in  the  spirit  of 
the  world’s  great  Exemplar. 

“Imbue  the  minds  and  hearts  of  these  thy  serv¬ 
ants,  now  convened  in  Congress,  with  the  highest 
ideals,  that  they  may  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
whereunto  they  are  called.  Impart  unto  those 
who  sit  at  the  bar  of  justice  clearness  of  vision, 
that  they  may  judge  wisely  and  impartially  the 
intricate  problems  which  confront  them.”6 

Although  many  are  composing  and  publishing 
prayers  expressive  of  the  life  peculiar  to  various 
classes  and  conditions  of  society,  no  one  has  been 
more  inspirational  or  uplifting  than  Professor  Walter 
Rauschenbusch.  His  purest  gem  is,  perhaps,  a 
prayer  for  all  mothers.  One  cannot  read  it  with¬ 
out  a  new  appreciation  of  the  sacredness  and  sacri¬ 
fice  of  motherhood.  The  following  paragraph  will 
suggest  its  social  value: 

“O  God,  we  offer  thee  praise  and  benediction 
for  the  sweet  ministries  of  motherhood  in  human 
life.  We  bless  thee  for  our  own  dear  mothers  who 
built  up  our  life  by  theirs;  who  bore  us  in  travail 
and  loved  us  the  more  for  the  pain  we  gave;  who 


6  Conden,  Henry  N.:  Prayers,  p.  41.  The  Crowell  Publishing  Company. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


133 


nourished  us  at  their  breast  and  hushed  us  to  sleep 
in  the  warm  security  of  their  arms.  We  thank  thee 
for  their  tireless  love,  for  their  voiceless  prayers, 
for  the  agony  with  which  they  followed  us  through 
our  sins  and  won  us  back,  for  the  Christly  power 
of  sacrifice  and  redemption  in  mother-love.  We 
pray  thee  to  forgive  us  if  in  thoughtless  selfishness 
we  have  taken  their  love  as  our  due  without  giving 
the  tenderness  which  they  craved  as  their  sole 
reward,  and  if  the  great  treasure  of  a  mother’s 
life  is  still  spared  to  us,  may  we  do  for  her  feeble¬ 
ness  what  she  did  for  ours.”7 

Prayer  in  the  home  and  inner  circle. — Quite  as 
effective  are  prayers  in  behalf  of  restricted  groups 
or  of  individuals.  A  man  of  particular  religious 
insight  offered  prayer  for  a  group  of  seekers  kneel¬ 
ing  at  the  altar  in  a  revival  meeting.  The  prayer 
was  instructional  and  inspirational  in  character, 
giving  an  excellent  interpretation  of  conversion 
and  accenting  the  social  and  ethical  aspect  of  the 
Christian  life.  Prayer  at  the  family  altar  is  like¬ 
wise  hortatory  and  preceptive.  The  plastic  soul 
of  the  child  receives  lasting  impressions  from  the 
family  prayer.  The  family  priest  dedicates  the 
child  to  God,  implores  divine  help  in  his  behalf, 
prays  that  he  may  be  kept  from  the  stain  of  sin, 
and  that  he  may  always  choose  the  right.  A  young 
man  says  that  the  memory  of  the  family  prayer 
which  his  father  made  the  morning  he  left  the 
paternal  roof  to  enter  college,  has  strengthened 
him  in  many  a  critical  hour,  kept  him  from  yielding 
to  seductive  and  subtle  temptations,  and  inspired 
him  to  live  a  life  of  usefulness  and  service. 


1  The  American  Magaiine,  December,  1910. 


134 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


The  preceptive  element  is  prominent  in  the  High 
Priestly  Prayer  of  Jesus,  recorded  in  John  17. 
It  was  offered  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples  and 
evidently  for  their  special  benefit.  It  is  both  his 
valedictory  and  last  will  and  testament.  “I  have 
glorified  thee  on  the  earth :  I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do.”  “And  now  I 
come  to  thee;  and  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world, 
that  they  might  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  them¬ 
selves.”  He  expresses  a  burning  desire  that  his 
followers  who  are  of  divergent  attitude  may  now 
be  fused  together  in  the  higher  purpose  of  his  mis¬ 
sion.  “Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them 
also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word; 
that  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us: 
that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent 
me.”  How  impressive  these  words,  how  they  must 
have  searched  the  apostles,  how  they  must  have 
lingered  in  memory! 

It  may  be  profitable  to  refer  to  a  specific  instance 
which  supports  the  statement  that  the  devotional 
relation  creates  a  religious  attitude  in  others,  and 
shows  that  the  supplications  of  a  few,  under  zealous 
leadership,  may,  when  the  circumstances  are  au¬ 
spicious,  induce  a  spiritual  revival  spreading  over 
a  whole  country.  Following  the  collapse  of  Wall 
Street  and  the  consequent  business  disturbances 
throughout  our  country  in  1857,  Jeremiah  C. 
Lanphier,  a  lay  missionary  employed  by  a  Dutch 
Reformed  church  in  New  York  city,  became  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  thought  that  an  hour  of  prayer 
at  noon  would  benefit  depressed  business  men. 
Although  he  had  advertised  it  somewhat,  Lanphier 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


135 


sat  out  the  first  half  hour  of  the  meeting  alone. 
Six  were  present  at  the  close  of  the  hour.  Lanphier 
kept  a  record  of  the  increase  in  attendance.  Twenty 
were  present  at  the  second  meeting,  forty  at  the 
third,  one  hundred  at  the  fourth,  after  which  the 
press  was  so  great  that  the  people  could  not  be 
seated  in  one  room.  Overflow  meetings  were  con¬ 
ducted  in  many  churches,  but  lack  of  room  made 
it  impossible  to  accommodate  the  great  crowds. 
Churches  were  thronged  before  the  hour  of  prayer 
began,  and  hundreds  stood  in  the  streets  while 
the  meetings  were  being  conducted.  Soon  the 
revival  of  religious  concern  spread  to  Jersey  City, 
Hoboken,  Paterson,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Albany, 
Troy,  Schenectady,  Rochester,  Buffalo,  Baltimore, 
Richmond,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Mobile,  New 
Orleans,  Vicksburg,  Memphis,  Saint  Louis,  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  Pittsburgh,  Chicago,  and  other  cities.8 
The  prayer  life  of  a  single  man  was  in  its  social 
consequences  like  a  match  kindled  in  a  vast  forest 
when  the  grass  is  dry  and  the  leaves  are  dead. 

Even  the  tender  social  prayer  for  those  who 
mourn  the  death  of  friends  or  relatives  is  quite 
dependent  for  its  consolation  upon  its  power  to 
touch  men.  The  bereaved  are  reminded  of  the 
existence  of  a  benevolent  God,  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  the  eternal  bliss  of  the  righteous  dead, 
the  uncertainty  of  this  life,  and  are  urged  to  seek 
divine  comfort  and  so  to  live  that  they  may  be 
reunited  with  the  departed  in  the  spirit  world. 
To  the  point  are  prayers  in  rituals  for  the  burial 
of  the  dead.  The  God  of  all  comfort  extends  his 


8  Davenport,  F.  M.:  Primitive  Traits  in  Religious  Revivals,  p.  6.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 


136  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


consolation  to  the  bereaved  through  the  sympathy 
of  his  children  for  one  another.  Men  are  his  mes¬ 
sengers  of  solace.  The  exceedingly  delicate  min¬ 
istry  to  the  sorrowing  is  best  accomplished  in  the 
fellowship  of  suffering  expressed  in  prayer. 

Prayers  for  the  dead. — Prayers  for  the  dead  are 
regarded  by  many  as  a  legitimate  form  of  inter¬ 
cession.  They  are  expressly  commanded  by  Saint 
Augustine  in  his  treatise  On  the  Care  of  the  Dead. 
Although  he  considered  them  without  scriptural 
foundation,  Luther  hesitated  to  forbid  them.  He 
says,  “Since  the  Scripture  mentions  nothing  con¬ 
cerning  them,  I  do  not  consider  it  a  sin  to  pray 
thus,  or  the  like:  (0  God,  if  thou  hast  such  relation¬ 
ship  with  souls  that  thou  canst  help  them,  be  gra¬ 
cious  to  them/  and  if  this  occurs  once  or  twice, 
let  that  be  enough.”  One  writer  of  devotional 
literature  makes  the  following  plea  for  them:  “And 
the  blessed  dead!  Those  happy  souls  who  have 
departed  thence  in  the  Lord!  They  too  come  within 
the  limitless  range  of  intercessory  prayer.  May 
we  pray  for  them?  Three  words  will  help  us  to 
answer  the  question:  law,  love  and  liberty.  Law 
allows  it;  love  commands  it;  liberty  embraces  it.”9 

The  largest  Protestant  denominations  in  our 
country  do  not  teach  the  duty  and  efficacy  of  prayers 
for  the  dead,  being  rather  skeptical  as  to  their 
value.  It  would,  however,  be  rash  to  declare 
that  they  are  without  any  effect.  Their  result,  so 
far  as  can  be  determined,  is  purely  reflexive.  Such 
prayers  tend  to  comfort  those  who  mourn,  to  deepen 
the  altruistic  sentiments  and  to  quicken  belief  in 


9  Holmes,  E.  E.:  Prayer  and  Action,  p.  si.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


137 


personal  immortality.  So  far  as  we  know  the 
product  is  largely  subconscious  and  personal. 

THE  ANSWER  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 

It  may  be  urged,  and  rightly  so,  that  whereas 
in  the  above  discussion  of  cooperative  prayer  the 
persons  whose  cooperation  was  solicited  received 
information  of  the  petition  through  the  ordinary 
channels  of  communication,  countless  prayers  are 
answered  by  persons  wholly  unaware  of  them. 
What  is  the  interpretation  of  the  social  petition 
of  which  the  answering  self  has  no  conscious  knowl¬ 
edge?  We  may  have  recourse  to  telepathy,  or 
normal  but  unrecognized  mental  processes,  or  a 
direct  informational  impression  made  by  God. 
Some  are  disposed  to  distribute  the  transference 
of  the  unknown  petitions  among  these  three,  assign¬ 
ing  some  to  the  immediate  action  of  God,  others  to 
telepathy,  and  still  others  to  reactions  of  the  sub¬ 
conscious  too  slight  to  be  perceived. 

MENTAL  TELEPATHY 

Some  believe  telepathy  to  be  the  determining 
factor  in  the  answering  of  the  unknown  intercession. 
The  supporters  of  the  theory  of  telepathy  main¬ 
tain  that  the  mind  may  function  apart  from  the 
nervous  system  and  by  virtue  of  that  fact  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  read  the  thoughts  of  another  at  a  distance 
and  control  them,  perceive  physical  phenomena 
occurring  no  matter  how  far  removed,  and,  say 
some  enthusiastic  advocates,  see  into  the  future, 
communicate  with  the  dead,  and  do  many  other 
wonderful  things. 

The  evidence  for  telepathic  marvels  is  scien- 


1 38  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


tifically  untenable.  The  most  competent  students 
of  borderland  psychology  reduce  the  so-called 
telepathic  occurrences  to  a  hopeless  jumble  of 
suggestion,  unconscious  perception,  chance  and 
coincidence,  hallucinations  and  illusions,  defective 
observation,  exaggeration,  imagination,  muscle-read¬ 
ing,  deliberate  or  unintentional  fraud.  They  insist 
that  an  unbroken  chain  of  sensations  intermediates 
every  perception.  Thought  is  not  a  vibration  of 
the  ether  set  up  by  sensitized  brain-cells,  but  an  im¬ 
material  condition,  a  state  of  mind.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  give  an  extended  account  of  the  alleged 
marvels  of  telepathy.  A  psychological  explanation  of 
some  typical  cases,  however,  may  be  suggested. 

Hallucinations  and  telepathy. — Some  telepathic 
instances  characterized  by  what  is  regarded  as  an 
external  influence  in  the  form  of  voices,  visions, 
apparitions  and  kindred  phenomena,  are  traceable 
to  hallucinations  and  illusions.  Seeming  to  have 
objective  existence,  the  outward  projection  of 
inward  states  is  especially  treacherous.  Professor 
Miinsterberg  describes  an  illuminating  case  of  this 
kind.  There  came  to  him  one  night  a  stranger 
resolved  to  commit  suicide  if  Professor  Miinster- 
berg  could  not  help  him.  He  related  that  he  was  a 
physician,  but  had  ceased  to  practice  because  his 
brother  across  the  ocean  hated  him  and  had  him 
under  telepathic  influence,  troubling  him  with 
mocking  voices  and  impulses  to  foolish  actions. 
For  several  days  he  had  neither  slept  nor  eaten; 
the  only  chance  for  life  that  he  could  see  was  that 
hypnotic  power  might  overcome  the  mystical  influ¬ 
ence.  On  examination  Professor  Miinsterberg  dis¬ 
covered  that  the  hallucination  of  voices  was  the 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


139 


chief  sympton  of  cocainism.  In  treating  himself  for 
a  wound,  the  physician  had  misused  cocaine.  The 
vaporings  of  a  diseased  mentality  became  asso¬ 
ciated  with  his  brother  in  Europe,  until  the  telepathic 
notion  grew  to  be  an  obsession.  The  Harvard 
professor  hypnotized  him,  giving  the  posthypnotic 
suggestion  that  the  patient  take  food,  sleep,  and 
a  smaller  dose  of  cocaine.  For  six  weeks  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  man  was  hypnotized  daily.  After  ten  days 
the  cocaine  habit  was  broken,  after  three  weeks  the 
voices  were  silent,  and  after  that  the  remaining 
symptoms  gradually  disappeared.  It  was  not  until 
the  end  of  the  treatment  that  the  theory  of  telepathy 
was  rejected.  After  six  weeks  when  he  was  normal 
again,  the  patient  could  hold  his  former  telepathic 
absurdities  in  derision,  but  assured  his  benefactor 
that  so  vividly  had  he  felt  the  distant  influences 
that  should  they  ever  be  experienced  again  he  would 
be  unable  to  resist  the  occult  interpretation.10 

Suggestion  and  telepathy. — That  the  element  of 
suggestion  accounts  for  many  so-called  cases  of 
telepathy  is,  perhaps,  most  clearly  demonstrated 
in  the  field  of  mental  healing.  Attention  has  already 
been  directed  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  faith  state 
of  the  patient  that  is  effective  and  not  the  effort 
of  the  healer  to  exert  his  curative  influence  at  a 
distance.  The  actual  giving  of  absent  treatment 
is  of  no  value  as  a  remedial  agency,  the  cure  is 
wholly  determined  by  the  attitude  of  the  patient. 
The  effect  of  faith  as  such  is  revealed  in  cases  of 
absent  treatment  which  are  successful  even  when 
the  healer  makes  no  effort  to  send  forth  his  virtue 
to  the  sick  who  have  confidence  in  his  power. 


10  Munsterberg,  Hugo:  Psychology  and  Life,  p.  242ft.  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


140 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Mr.  J.  V.  Coombs  reports  the  case  of  a  woman 
in  South  Chicago  who  requested  her  husband  to 
consult  a  Christian  Science  healer  in  her  behalf, 
as  her  physicians  had  pronounced  her  heart  trouble 
incurable.11  The  healer  proposed  absent  treatment, 
instructing  the  husband  that  at  a  time  selected  by 
the  patient  herself  and  reported  to  him,  he  would 
perform  the  miracle  at  a  distance  while  she,  dressed 
loosely,  calmly  concentrated  her  mind  on  being 
healed.  JThe  patient  chose  eight  o’clock  the  follow¬ 
ing  evening.  The  husband,  a  traveling  man,  left 
his  home  the  next  morning,  fully  intending  to  in¬ 
form  the  healer  of  the  hour  selected  by  his  wife, 
but  found  it  impossible  to  deliver  the  message  and 
take  a  certain  train  leaving  the  city.  He  did-  not 
instruct  the  healer.  Believing  that  Christian  Sci¬ 
ence  absent  treatment  was  being  given,  she  medi¬ 
tated  as  directed  at  the  time  fixed  by  herself.  A 
few  days  later  she  wrote  her  husband,  who  had  not 
yet  returned  home,  that  she  was  well  and  had 
become  a  convert  to  Christian  Science.  When  he 
returned  he  could  contain  himself  no  longer,  and 
injudiciously  disabused  her  mind  of  the  error  that 
the  curist  had  given  treatment  at  the  time  set  by 
herself.  The  revelation  was  more  than  she  could 
bear;  she  suffered  a  relapse  and  expired  within  ten 
hours.  The  unfortunate  ending  of  this  case  speaks 
for  itself. 

Coincidence  and  chance. — The  identity  in  time  of 
two  or  more  events  seems  to  be  an  element  in 
the  answering  of  other  unknown  social  prayers. 
A  study  of  the  inwardness  of  coincidence  discloses 
conspiracies  of  circumstances  which  make  the  con- 


11  Religious  Delusions,  p.  142.  The  Standard  Publishing  Company. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


141 

currence  of  certain  events  possible  and  even  inevi¬ 
table.  When  two  men  invent  the  same  mechanical 
device  at  about  the  same  time,  the  coincidence 
may  be  traced  to  a  need  common  enough  to  arouse 
the  activity  of  a  number  of  minds  to  meet  it.  In¬ 
ventions  do  not  outrun  our  wants.  The  dominant 
interests  of  the  age,  the  necessities  of  the  hour, 
the  spirit  of  the  times,  all  give  birth  to  similar  and 
simultaneous  efforts.  Coincidences  are,  therefore, 
inevitable. 

Nor  should  the  part  of  chance  pure  and  simple 
be  slighted.  The  concurrence  of  events  innocent 
of  causal  relation  is  not  only  a  possibility  but  an 
actual  fact.  Many  telepathic  marvels  are  reducible 
to  the  element  of  chance.  In  confirmation  of  this 
statement  one  may  refer  to  recent  findings  of  an 
experimenter  in  telepathy,  Dr.  J.  E.  Coover.  His 
experimental  study  demonstrates  anew  that  a  person 
can  have  an  absolutely  groundless  belief  that  another 
is  staring  at  his  back.  This  belief  may  be  accounted 
for  by  a  nervousness  arising  from  natural  anxiety 
as  to  the  appearance  of  one’s  back,  inhibition  by 
the  dictates  of  good  breeding  of  the  impulse  to 
turn  around  to  see  if  anyone  is  staring,  the  actual 
detection  of  another  in  the  act  of  staring  whose 
attention  was  attracted  by  signs  of  nervousness, 
and  the  tendency  to  attribute  objective  validity  to 
subjective  states  in  the  form  of  sensations,  imagery 
and  impulses. 

Ten  college  students  made  one  hundred  guesses 
each,  as  to  whether  they  were  being  stared  at  during 
a  fifteen-second  interval.  Each  student,  with  eyes 
closed  and  shaded  by  the  hand,  sat  with  the  back 
toward  the  experimenter.  Whenever  the  latter 


1-42 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


stared,  he  did  so  with  conscious  intensity,  “ willing’’ 
that  the  reagent  “feel”  it.  A  box  containing  a  die 
was  shaken,  and  when  an  odd  number  of  spots 
was  cast  the  reagent  was  stared  at;  when  an  even 
number  was  cast,  the  experimenter  did  not  stare. 
Of  the  one  thousand  guesses  50.2  per  cent  were 
correct — an  approximation  to  the  probability  figure 
when  events  are  controlled  by  chance  that  warrants 
the  conclusion  that  aside  from  hazard  no  cause 
need  be  assigned  the  right  cases.12 

The  percentage  of  probability  is,  of  course,  a 
variable  quantity,  and  in  the  realm  of  prayer,  as 
elsewhere,  it  is  not  always  high.  But  even  when  it 
is  low  the  chance  occurrences  should  not  be  mis¬ 
interpreted.  It  is  well  to  remember  tha!t  the  external 
world  is  so  prodigal  in  the  nature  and  variety  of 
events  productive  of  prayer  that  chance  corre¬ 
spondences  are  bound  to  occur. 

SUBCONSCIOUS  SENSITIVITY  AND  UNRECOGNIZED 

PETITIONS 

Although  one  may  be  unaware  of  receiving  any 
message  through  sense-perception,  the  subconscious 
may  take  into  account  impressions  imperceptible 
to  clear  consciousness.  The  range  of  our  mental 
life  is  far  more  extensive  than  the  psychic  experiences 
of  which  we  are  aware  and  which  are  communicable.  ^ 
It  has  been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  we  are 
influenced  by  a  multitude  of  subconscious  regis¬ 
trations  of  which  we  are  ignorant.  It  may  be  well 
to  refer  to  a  number  of  experiments  which  reveal 
their  presence  and  power. 


n  American  Journal  of  Psychology .  vol.  xxiv,  p.  570ff. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


M3 


Experimental  evidence  for  subconscious  registra¬ 
tion. — Experimentation  in  hypnotism  frequently 
discloses  large  tracts  of  the  mental  life  of  which 
the  subject  is  unaware.  In  the  hypnotic  condition 
he  may  recall  dreams  and  other  experiences  beyond 
recollection  in  the  normal  state.  Max  Dessoir 
writes  that  on  one  occasion  when  several  friends 
were  in  his  room,  a  Mr.  W.  was  reading  to  himself 
while  the  others  were  conversing.  Some  one  men¬ 
tioned  the  name  of  Mr.  X.  in  whom  Mr.  W.  was  very 
much  interested.  Mr.  W.  at  once  raised  his  head 
to  ask,  “What  was  that  about  Mr.  X.?”  He  had 
heard  a  familiar  name,  without  having  any  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  previous  conversation,  as  often  happens. 
He  consented  to  be  hypnotized  by  Dessoir,  and  when 
deeply  entranced  repeated  the  substance  of  the 
entire  conversation  carried  on  while  he  was  reading 
to  himself  and  of  which  he  professed  absolute  ignor¬ 
ance  in  the  normal  state.13 

Experimental  investigation  in  involuntary  whis¬ 
pering  has  brought  to  light  the  fact  that  whenever 
we  think,  there  is  an  initial  and  incipient  movement 
of  the  vocal  mechanism  appropriate  to  the  utterance 
of  the  thought,  which  although  inaudible  to  the 
clear  consciousness  of  another,  may  be  subcon¬ 
sciously  perceived.  Two  experimenters  in  telepathy, 
F.  C.  Hansen  and  A.  Lehmann,  were  seated  back 
to  back.  Tags  marked  with  numbers  from  19  to 
99  were  taken  out  of  a  bag  haphazardly  and  held 
in  mind  by  one  of  the  men.  The  part  of  the  other 
was  to  state  which  number  was  in  the  mind.  It 
was  soon  discovered  that  when  a  number  was 


11  See  Sidis,  Boris:  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  152.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


144 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


thought  of  for  some  time  there  was  a  decided  ten¬ 
dency  on  the  part  of  the  vocal  muscles  to  inervate. 
Caution  was  exercised  to  keep  the  mouth  closed 
and  make  no  sound.  A  bystander  could  detect  no 
vocalization.  An  examination  of  the  results  proved 
that  mere  chance  did  not  account  for  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  correct  responses.  Doubtless  the  trans¬ 
ference  of  the  ideas  of  number  occurred  through 
the  sense  of  hearing,  the  involuntary  whispering 
being  subconsciously  noted  by  observer.14  Sub¬ 
sequent  experiments  confirm  this  conclusion.  Mr. 
H.  S.  Curtis  conducted  experiments  which  recorded 
the  automatic  movements  of  the  larynx  when  the 
Lord’s  Prayer  was  mentally  recited.15  That  thought 
is  accompanied  by  a  jiggling  of  the  larynx,  indicating 
incipient  oral  expression  which  may  be  subcon¬ 
sciously  recorded  by  another,  seems  well  established. 

Other  experiments  reveal  the  fact  that  our  judg¬ 
ments  are  influenced  by  unrecognizable  stimuli. 
Relying  upon  our  unreasoned  attitudes  our  con¬ 
clusions  are  often  more  tenable  than  others  reached 
by  formal  logic.  The  swift  and  dependable  intu¬ 
itions  of  the  female  mind  excite  universal  wonder 
and  admiration.  Professor  H.  H.  Donaldson  records 
an  experimental  example  of  the  effect  of  imper¬ 
ceptible  factors.  Two  surfaces  differing  by  a  slight 
but  measurable  amount  in  the  intensity  of  illumi¬ 
nation,  were  compared,  the  observers  being  required 
to  state  which  surface  was  the  brighter.  The  dif¬ 
ference  was  too  slight  to  be  recognized;  hence  the 
observers  were  compelled  to  guess.  The  unrecog- 


14  See  Wundt,  W.:  Philosophische  Studien,  vol.  xi,  part  4.  The  Macmillan 
Company. 

15  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  vol.  xi,  p.  2. 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


145 


nizable  difference  was  an  effective  element  in 
determining  the  choice,  for  the  brighter  was  cor¬ 
rectly  designated  with  much  greater  frequency.16 
The  same  principle  operates  in  experiments  in  pitch 
discrimination.  Two  tuning  forks  differing  slightly 
in  the  number  of  vibrations  per  second  are  struck 
in  rapid  succession  and  held  before  a  resonator  in 
the  order  determined  by  lot.  The  observer  states 
whether  the  second  sound  is  higher  or  lower  than 
the  first.  A  considerable  number  of  trials  are  made. 
If  the  observer  insists  that  he  is  unable  to  dis¬ 
criminate,  he  is  encouraged  to  judge  in  accordance 
with  any  vague  inner  prompting  he  may  feel.  The 
percentage  of  correct  responses  when  no  difference 
is  recognized  and  the  observer  relies  upon  his 
unreasoned  attitude  is  so  great  that  it  is  clear  that 
imperceptible  factors  influence  judgment. 

Space  does  not  permit  the  description  of  organic 
reactions  of  which  we  are  ignorant,  such  as  the 
afflux  of  blood  to  the  brain  during  mental  effort, 
or  of  the  automatic  movements  of  the  body,  head 
and  hands  in  the  direction  of  attention.17  Enough 
has  been  said  to  sustain  the  contention  that  our 
feelings,  thoughts,  and  actions  are  modified  by  our 
responses  to  stimuli  too  weak  to  be  consciously 
noted.  The  fact  that  the  range  of  the  sensibility 
of  the  mental  life  is  far  more  extensive  than  that 
of  mere  clear  consciousness  accounts  for  many 
telepathic  instances.  There  is  a  subtle  temptation 
to  ascribe  a  response  to  unknown  but  subconsciously 
noted  hints  to  a  direct  impression  from  another  at 
a  distance. 

16  Donaldson,  H.  H.:  The  Growth  of  the  Brain,  p.  292.  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 

17  See  Jastrow,  J.:  Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology,  p.  307.  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company. 


146  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Subconscious  registrations  of  prayer. — It  is  clear 
that  a  social  prayer  may  make  impressions  too 
faint  or  indistinct  to  attract  the  attention  of  another, 
and  yet  be  subconsciously  gleaned  and  elaborated. 
Neither  the  self  praying  nor  the  one  answering 
may  be  aware  of  the  delicate  process  of  hyper¬ 
esthesia,  as  it  is  called,  and  therefore  neither  is 
able  to  interpret  the  occurrence  in  terms  of  an 
orderly  sequence.  The  unintended  signals  of  the 
prayer  are  legion;  spoken  or  written  words  are  not 
the  only  sources  of  information'  at  the  disposal  of 
the  mind.  A  clasp  of  the  hand,  a  touch  upon  the 
shoulder,  a  gesture,  a  facial  expression,  the  tone 
of  the  voice  may  indicate  interest  in  the  religious 
life  of  another. 

Doubtless  some  are  more  sensitive  to  weak 
stimuli  than  are  others,  and  some  are  constantly 
giving  more  outward  signs  of  inward  states  than 
are  others.  When  friends  are  good  transmitters 
and  receivers  of  delicate  impressions,  silent  conver¬ 
sations  may  occur;  they  may  spend  an  entire  evening 
together  without  speaking  a  word  and  part  with 
the  consciousness  of  having  had  a  sociable  visit. 
A  lad  frequently  roamed  over  hill  and  dale  with 
his  boy  chum,  neither  uttering  a  sentence  for  hours 
and  still  each  found  the  society  of  the  other  con¬ 
genial.  When  husband  and  wife  are  thus  sym¬ 
pathetically  related,  few  words  are  necessary  for 
mutual  understanding  and  appreciation. 

A  teacher  recalls  a  former  student  of  his  with 
more  than  ordinary  interest,  for  this  mind  was  an 
exceedingly  sensitive  receiver  and  interpreter  of 
the  attitudes  of  his  preceptors.  His  method  of 
reciting  a  lesson  was  akin  to  that  of  a  professional 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


147 


medium  giving  information  to  a  sitter.  In  reply 
to  the  question  asked  by  the  instructor  it  was 
his  custom  to  parry  and  temporize  by  asking  a 
counter  and  leading  question:  did  the  teacher  refer 
to  this  or  that?  If  the  instructor  answered,  matters 
were  materially  expedited  for  the  student.  If  an 
answer  was  denied,  he  began  to  skirmish,  moving 
cautiously  in  the  form  of  generalities  equally  applic¬ 
able  to  a  multitude  of  things  and  having  his  eyes 
riveted  upon  the  face  of  the  teacher  to  detect  the 
shadow  of  a  trace  of  approval  or  disapproval.  Thus 
guiding  and  guarding  himself,  he  retreated  whenever 
he  felt  himself  upon  treacherous  ground,  and  ad¬ 
vanced  boldly  whenever  he  felt  sure  of  his  position, 
uniformly  succeeding  in  making  a  tolerable  recita¬ 
tion,  although  the  instructor  was  exercising 
precaution  to  be  noncommittal,  and  the  student 
himself  had  come  with  the  vaguest  conception  of 
the  lesson  material.  This  sensitive  soul  possessed 
the  almost  uncanny  power  of  compelling  the  pre¬ 
ceptor  to  recite  for  him. 

It  does  not  seem  unreasonable  to  conclude  that 
transmitters  of  prayer,  especially  those  who  unin¬ 
tentionally  radiate  the  signs  and  symbols  of  the 
secret  devotional  life,  are  frequently  rewarded  by 
others  who  have  no  conscious  knowledge  of  having 
absorbed  the  petition.  In  fact,  a  highly  impression¬ 
able  and  socialized  person  may  respond  to  a  sub¬ 
consciously  noted  and  assimilated  petition  more 
generously  and  graciously  than  to  the  one  of  which 
he  is  pointedly  aware.  The  hint  dropped  unawares 
and  subconsciously  taken  is  likely  to  be  more  effec¬ 
tive  than  the  consciously  recognized  petition. 
Persons  of  the  combative  disposition  exhibit  a 


148  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


readiness  to  set  their  wills  against  the  direct  and 
the  known  appeal,  but  a  sensitiveness  and  a  respon¬ 
siveness  to  what  they  assume  to  be  original  impulses. 
The  pathway  which  a  petition  made  in  the  closet 
may  take  may  be  labyrinthian,  and  it  is  seldom 
if  ever  possible  to  predict  or  detect  how  or  when 
it  will  travel,  what  its  destination  will  be,  and 
what  it  will  accomplish. 

When  we  add  to  subconscious  activity  the  many 
other  means  of  imparting  and  receiving  information, 
the  possibilities  of  disseminating  the  social  prayer 
seem  beyond  computation.  Such  things  as  the 
locomotive  and  steamship,  the  telephone  and  tele¬ 
graph,  the  mail  service  and  newspaper,  the  public 
school  and  market  place  have  all  brought  men  into 
close  relations  and  multiplied  the  channels  of 
intercommunication.  The  secret  whispered  in  the 
chamber  is  proclaimed  from  the  housetops. 

DIRECT  IMPRESSIONS  BY  GOD 

It  is  affirmed  that  when  an  intercession  touches 
the  heart  of  God  he  sometimes  influences  the  person 
whom  the  prayer  is  designed  to  move,  without 
any  reference  to  the  ordinary  human  means  of 
communication.  Since  God  is  the  author  and 
sustainer  of  the  universe,  it  does  not  become  us  to 
deny  him  such  method.  It  is  not  for  us  to  impose 
our  limitations  upon  him.  There  should  be  no 
disposition  to  question  the  power  of  God  to  impress 
the  mind  of  man  immediately.  In  fact,  the  doctrine 
of  the  immanence  of  God,  which  underlies  this 
entire  study  of  prayer,  implying  as  it  does  that  he 
is  constantly  prompting  man  from  within,  is 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


149 


wholly  compatible  with  the  mystical  account  of  the 
transmission  of  the  unknown  petition  from  one  self 
to  another.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  determine 
to  a  finality  whether  a  response  is  directly  inspired 
by  God,  or  indirectly  by  other  subconsciously 
acquired  intimations. 

Not  that  such  an  immediate  impression  can  be  dis-  w 
sected  and  labeled  by  scientific  processes.  It  lies  out¬ 
side  the  domain  for  which  psychology  is  responsible. 

A  transcendental  impulse  is  not  material  for  the 
psychologist  but  for  the  theologian  and  the  philos¬ 
opher.  It  belongs  to  the  realm  of  relations  not 
reducible  to  other  and  more  basic  terms  by  the 
technic  of  science.  A  mystical  impression  is  an 
interior  illumination  and  urge,  a  matter  of  religious 
consciousness  and  intuition,  which  is  not  subject 
to  the  methods  and  classifications  of  psychology. 
After  science  has  abstracted  all  that  it  can  from  the 
prayer  experience  an  irreducible  residuum  remains, 
a  relation  of  God  and  man  too  deep  and  intimate 
to  be  analyzed  and  defined. 

The  Christian  religion  is  the  organization  of  life 
in  its  totality  in  accordance  with  the  Fatherhood 
of  God.  It  teaches  that  a  personal  and  direct  rela¬ 
tion  between  God  as  Father  and  men  as  sons  is  not 
only  possible  but  imperative.  This  would  be  an 
orphaned  world  indeed  if  God  could  not  and  did  not 
sensitize  the  conscience  of  man.  If  the  human 
personality  were  in  every  instance  thrown  upon 
its  own  resources,  how  pitifully  inadequate  the 
entire  scheme  of  things  would  be!  Man’s  own 
ideas  and  unaided  efforts  cannot  carry  him  far. 

To  yield  to  the  impression  of  God  within  is  to 
give  the  course  of  life  a,  point  and  a  direction  which 


150  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


man,  relying  upon  his  own  reason  and  volition,  can¬ 
not  achieve.  The  prayer  relation  draws  upon 
mystic  sources  of  wisdom  which,  although  defying 
scientific  investigation  and  description,  attest  their 
validity  in  the  moral  and  social  progress  of  hu¬ 
manity. 

\ 

SUMMARY 

Springing  from  religious  motives,  the  prayers  of 
solicitation  for  things  and  personal  effort  enlist 
those  whose  strength  and  willingness  can  accom¬ 
plish  what  the  petitioner  himself  is  unable  alone 
and  unaided  to  bring  to  pass.  Such  prayers  tend 
to  form  partnerships  of  personalities  for  the  further¬ 
ance  of  enterprises  of  social  significance.  They 
have  a  socializing  influence.  They  discover  and 
impress  the  persons  who  can  contribute  to  social 
betterment.  Prayer  action  and  prayer  reaction 
fuse  in  fellowship  and  common  achievement. 

Other  prayers  studied  in  this  chapter  culminate 
in  an  altered  personality  rather  than  in  material 
contributions  or  other  forms  of  benevolence.  They 
are  not  made  to  win  active  support  for  a  cause,  but 
to  instruct  and  recreate  others.  They  are  com¬ 
forting  and  cheering,  didactic  and  invigorating. 
The  process  of  conversion,  the  elimination  of  evil, 
the  cure  of  a  disease,  divine  guidance,  in  short 
whatever  may  be  achieved  by  the  individual  him¬ 
self,  may,  in  auspicious  circumstances,  be  induced 
in  the  lives  of  others.  The  petitioner  has  his  reward 
in  the  reconstruction  of  the  personality  of  con¬ 
cern  to  him.  It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  more 
disinterested  motives  than  those  which  prompt 
this  form  of  cooperative  prayer.  It  is  evident  that 


COOPERATIVE  PRAYER 


I5i 

such  petitions  beget  in  another  prayers  for  a  more 
victorious  and  morally  competent  self. 

Prayers  made  within  the  hearing  of  others  or 
directly  carried  to  others  by  the  ordinary  avenues 
of  intercommunication  are  their  own  appeal.  That 
such  impacts  are  reenforced  by  the  energy  of  God 
in  man  is  defensible  and  inevitable  in  the  light 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  immanence  of  God.  The  P 
unrecognized  petition  may  be  conveyed  to  its 
destination  in  one  of  two  ways:  it  may  be  subcon¬ 
sciously  garnered  and  elaborated,  or  it  may  be 
directly  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  man  by  God 
himself.  In  either  case  clairvoyant  traits  of  the 
human  personality  are  for  the  present  excluded 
as  not  yet  scientifically  demonstrated.  Prayers  of 
cooperation,  as  motivated  and  employed  by  the 
religious  consciousness,  assume  the  nature  of 
religious-social  suggestions. 

A  petition  transferred  as  a  divine  impulse  or  in 
any  other  way,  does  not  ride  roughshod  over  the 
will  of  another.  Indeed,  the  contrary  will  of  another 
may  defeat  the  purpose  for  which  the  prayer  was 
made.  The  creativeness  of  the  social  petition,  no 
matter  how  transmitted,  is  determined  by  the 
cooperation  and  resources  of  the  self  it  touches. 
Prayer  is  not  a  means  of  canceling  the  moral  respon¬ 
sibilities  of  others.  The  statement,  “Behold  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock,”  expresses  all  that 
God  will  and  all  that  man  can  do.  Prayer  solicits 
and  invites,  encourages  and  urges,  enlightens  and 
admonishes,  but  so  long  as  the  self  resists  the  im¬ 
pact  and  appeal  of  it,  it  remains  answerless.  Not 
even  when  he  impinges  upon  the  spirit  of  man 
without  sensory  mediation  does  God  presume  to 


152 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


coerce  the  personality  endowed  with  initiative  and 
self-direction  to  obey  him.  The  obligation  to  respond 
to  the  full  measure  of  his  ability  to  that  which  accords 
with  the  mandates  of  conscience  rests  squarely  upon 
man  himself. 


CHAPTER  VII 


OBJECTIVE  ANSWERS 

Although  the  number  of  persons  who  expect 
direct  responses  to  prayers,  which  involve  the  sus¬ 
pension  of  natural  law,  is  rapidly  diminishing,  yet, 
for  the  sake  of  stressing  the  sphere  within  which 
prayer  actually  moves,  we  turn  at  this  point  to 
so-called  objective  answers.  Is  prayer  efficacious 
outside  the  range  of  personal  and  social  influence? 
Does  prayer  infringe  upon  and  suspend  the  laws 
of  nature?  Does  the  sweep  of  prayer  include  the 
physical  as  well  as  the  moral  and  religious  world? 
Some  assure  us  that,  impelled  by  the  prayer  of 
faith,  God  halts,  if  he  does  not  actually  disturb, 
the  usual  orderly  processes  of  nature. 

Human  tendencies. — It  must  be  confessed  that 
here,  as  in  other  matters  in  which  man  is  vitally 
concerned,  lapse  of  memory,  unintentional  exagger¬ 
ation,  the  accommodation  of  a  petition  to  an  event 
which  partially  resembles  the  answer  desired,  and 
coincidence,  are  some  of  the  human  elements  which 
may  be  taken  into  consideration.  The  following 
instance  taken  from  a  popular  novel,  warms  the 
heart  without  deceiving  the  head:  “Alessandro’s 
grandfather  had  journeyed  with  Father  Crespi  as 
his  servant,  and  many  a  miracle  he  had  with  his 
own  eyes  seen  Father  Crespi  perform.  There  was 
a  cup  out  of  which  the  Father  always  took  his 
chocolate  for  breakfast,  a  beautiful  cup,  which  was 

i53 


154 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


carried  in  a  box,  the  only  luxury  the  Father  had; 
and  one  morning  it  was  broken,  and  everybody  was 
in  terror  and  despair.  ‘Never  mind,  never  mind,’ 
said  the  Father;  ‘I  will  make  it  whole;’  and  taking 
the  two  pieces  in  his  hands,  he  held  them  tight 
together,  and  prayed  over  them,  and  they  became 
one  solid  piece  again,  and  it  was  used  through  the 
journey,  just  as  before.”1 

The  interested  and  expectant  person,  in  his 
prayer  life  as  in  other  affairs  that  engage  his  atten¬ 
tion,  perceives  and  interprets  the  coincidental  expe¬ 
rience  that  altogether  escapes  the  notice  of  one 
absorbed  by  other  phases  of  life.  “It  is  only  neces¬ 
sary  to  become  deeply  interested  in  coincidences, 
to  look  about  with  eyes  open  and  eager  to  detect 
them,  in  order  to  discover  them  on  all  sides;  resolve 
to  record  all  that  come  to  hand,  and  they  seem  to 
multiply  until  you  can  regard  yourself  and  your 
friends  as  providentially  favored  in  this  direction.”2 

Mr.  H.  C.  Trumbull  relates  that  when  he  was 
superintendent  of  a  mission  school  he  and  his  teachers 
planned  to  take  a  sleigh-ride  on  Christmas  morning 
to  the  State  prison  where  they  proposed  to  conduct 
a  religious  service  and  visit  a  former  pupil  incar¬ 
cerated  for  arson.  When  the  necessary  arrange¬ 
ments  were  being  made  a  teacher  suggested  that 
if  there  should  be  no  snowfall  on  or  before  Christmas 
night  their  plans  would  come  to  naught,  as  the 
ground  was  bare.  Their  leader,  Mr.  Trumbull, 
ventured  to  reply  that  since  they  were  in  God’s 
special  service  and  had  renewedly  prayed  for 
guidance  in  their  plans,  they  might  with  the  utmost 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt:  Ramona,  p.  187.  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 

2  Jastrow,  Joseph:  Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology,  p.  90.  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company. 


OBJECTIVE  ANSWERS 


155 


confidence  trust  God  to  do  his  part.  Returning 
home  from  the  meeting,  he  realized  the  delicacy 
of  the  position  he  had  taken  and  fell  upon  his  knees 
to  implore  divine  aid.  On  Christmas  Eve  he  met 
his  teachers  to  complete  all  details  and,  although 
the  sky  was  starlit  and  there  was  no  indication 
that  snow  would  cover  the  ground,  they  separated 
for  the  night,  agreeing  to  meet  the  following  morn¬ 
ing.  On  Christmas  morning  four  inches  of  snow 
covered  the  earth,  providing  an  excellent  basis  for 
sleighing.  The  proposed  sleigh-ride  was  now  possi¬ 
ble,  and  all  plans  were  carried  out  to  the  letter. 
The  teachers  were  convinced  that  God  had  sent 
the  snow  in  answer  to  prayer.3 

It  may  seem  ungracious,  but  it  is  certainly  legiti¬ 
mate,  to  raise  questions  like  the  following:  Was 
the  snowfall  contingent  upon  the  trust  in  God, 
or  would  it  have  come  even  if  no  one  had  peti¬ 
tioned  for  it?  Was  there  in  reality  no  sign  of 
the  coming  snow  in  the  sky  and  air,  or  might  a 
meteorologist  have  detected  atmospheric  conditions 
presaging  it?  Was  the  incident  an  objective  answer 
or  a  happy  coincidence? 

Once  men  prayed  for  rain  in  a  season  of  pro¬ 
tracted  drought.  They  were  right  in  their  assump¬ 
tion  that  God  is  interested  in  the  daily  bread  for 
which  Jesus  taught  them  to  pray.  Although  God 
is  by  no  means  indifferent  to  the  physical  wants 
of  men,  and  prayer  for  rain  is  often  followed  soon 
by  a  downpour,  we  cannot  be  absolutely  sure  that 
rain  would  not  have  fallen  without  special  prayer 
for  it.  There  is  no  known  test  by  which  we  can 


*  Illustrative  Answers  to  Prayer,  p.  1  iff.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


156  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


determine.  God  lets  the  rain  fall  upon  the  unjust 
as  well  as  upon  the  just.  For  this  reason  the  prayer 
for  rain  is  confusing. 

Undiscovered  connections. — On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  sheer  scientific  bigotry  to  assert  that  answer 
to  prayer  outside  the  scope  of  personal  influence 
is  impossible.  There  may  be  higher  laws  of  which 
we  as  yet  know  nothing  which  determine  the  answer 
now  regarded  as  objective.  Many  events  of  nature 
once  supposed  to  be  direct  departures  from  the 
usual  and  orderly  scheme  of  the  world  have  dis¬ 
closed  their  normal  connections  and  been  linked 
with  other  like  uniform  sequences.  The  possi¬ 
bility  of  an  incandescent  electric  light  was  once 
scoffed  at,  but  it  has  long  ago  become  an  accom¬ 
plished  fact.  The  range  of  the  unknown  is  vaster 
than  that  of  the  explored  regions;  hence  modesty 
becomes  us.  While  defying  our  present  methods  of 
analysis  and  classification  certain  objective  answers 
to  prayer  may  some  day  be  referred  to  laws  of  which 
at  present  we  are  wholly  ignorant.  What  now 
appears  to  be  a  conflict  with  natural  law  may  in 
the  end  reveal  itself  to  students  of  deeper  insight 
and  more  varied  experience,  as  the  outcome  of  a 
higher  order. 

God  and  nature. — It  is  the  Christian’s  belief 
that  since  God  made  the  world  as  it  is,  he  is  able 
to  depart  from  any  customary  method  of  express¬ 
ing  himself.  What  he  can  make  he  can  break. 
While  there  can  hardly  be  a  question  as  to  God’s 
power  to  suspend  or  interfere  with  his  customary 
activities,  there  has  been  decided  objection  to  such 
intervention.  One  writer  feels  so  strongly  that 
he  makes  the  statement  that  a  God  who  creates 


OBJECTIVE  ANSWERS 


157 


a  universe  according  to  a  plan  which  he  must  change 
or  temporarily  abandon  in  order  to  accomplish  his 
purposes  would  be  limited  in  wisdom  and  resources. 
A  deviation  from  the  law-abiding  order  of  nature 
he  regards  as  a  makeshift,  a  way  out  of  a  difficulty, 
a  desperate  measure,  something  which  supplies  a 
want  in  the  scheme  of  things.  The  world  has  not 
been  so  fashioned  that  by  it  all  the  divine  ends  are 
achieved.  “God  encounters  an  obstacle  within  his 
own  order  of  nature.  It  is  as  if  there  were  two 
Gods — one  who  is  active  during  the  ordinary  course 
of  things,  and  another  who,  in  particular  cases, 
corrects  the  work  of  the  former.”4 

On  the  other  hand,  others,  far  from  sensing  any 
limitation  in  an  occurrence  which  conflicts  with 
what  we  know  about  natural  law,  are  disposed  to 
glory  in  a  God  who  refuses  to  be  held  in  check  by 
his  ordinary  way  of  governing  the  universe.  Far 
from  displaying  a  weakness  in  God,  events  not 
reducible  to  what  we  call  law  reveal  his  sovereignty. 
They  believe  that  when  a  situation  is  serious  enough 
to  warrant  it,  God  does  actually  exercise  his  power 
to  halt  or  disturb  the  usual  processes  of  nature. 
They  do  not  discriminate  against  petitions  answers 
to  which  might  entail  a  break  in  the  natural  order. 
Although  conscious  of  their  own  lack  of  wisdom, 
they  pray  that  not  their  will  but  God’s,  be  done. 

The  higher  ministry  of  prayer. — The  atmosphere 
is  cleared  when  we  raise  the  question,  Are  the  ends 
of  life  physical,  or  moral  and  religious?  If  it  be 
granted  that  the  ends  of  the  race  are  spiritual, 
it  becomes  clear  that  prayer  in  furthering  the 


4  Hoffding,  H.:  The  Philosophy  of  Religion,  p.  29.  The  Macmillan  Company. 


158  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


fundamental  purpose  does  not  directly  involve  the 
material  world.  Prayer  as  a  means  of  spiritual 
culture  has  no  responsibility  in  the  physical  uni¬ 
verse.  To  say  the  least,  it  is  not  the  highest  function 
of  prayer  to  invade  the  material  universe  and  to 
work  havoc  and  confusion  simply  to  gratify  an 
unsophisticated  and  unspiritual  petitioner. 

To  confine  prayer  to  moral  issues  is  to  forestall 
perplexity.  Many  a  sensitive  but  misguided  person 
has  been  unable  to  unlearn  what  he  has  been  taught 
about  the  willingness  of  God  to  abrogate  the  laws 
of  the  physical  world,  without  an  unfortunate  and 
a  needless  loss  of  confidence  in  religion  itself.  An 
author  of  a  devotional  study  records  the  case  of 
a  woman  whose  spiritual  life  suffered  permanent 
injury  because  her  petition  for  the  recovery  of  her 
daughter,  incurably  ill,  was  ungranted.  She  had 
been  taught  that  faith  invariably  moves  God  to 
change  or  reverse  the  operations  of  nature.5  One 
of  Dr.  F.  0.  Beck’s  correspondents  reports  a  girl¬ 
hood  experience  which  further  illustrates  the  con¬ 
fusion  arising  from  misleading  teaching.  “One 
evening,  just  when  leaving  school,  I  tore  a  page  in 
a  new  geography  of  which  I  thought  a  great  deal. 
I  placed  it  in  the  desk  greatly  worried,  and  leaving 
the  room  sadly,  I  recalled  that  the  teacher  had 
taught  that  God  could  do  anything,  so  I  just  prayed 
that  he  would  mend  my  torn  book.  Many  times 
that  evening  and  the  next  morning  I  asked  him  in 
prayer  to  mend  the  page.  I  hastened  to  school 
early  and  went  at  once  to  my  desk  to  find  to  my 
sorrow  that  the  leaf  was  still  torn.”6 


‘  McCormick,  C.  W.:  The  Heart  of  Prayer,  p.  i.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 
•  American  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology  and  Education,  vol.  ii,  p.  118. 


OBJECTIVE  ANSWERS 


159 


Many  men  feel  that  it  is  more  religious  and  in 
harmony  with  the  divine  will  to  adjust  themselves 
to  the  laws  of  nature  than  it  is  to  try  to  set  them 
aside  by  the  power  of  prayer.  Instead  of  praying 
for  rain  they  irrigate  the  arid  regions,  plant  trees 
to  modify  the  atmospheric  conditions,  and  discover 
and  apply  the  principles  of  dry  farming.  Instead 
of  trying  to  deliver  themselves  from  a  plague  of 
grass-hoppers  by  means  of  prayer,  intelligent  men 
are  plowing  under  the  larva  and  preventing  the 
propagation  of  the  noxious  insects.  Instead  of 
relying  solely  upon  prayer  to  arrest  the  ravages 
of  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever,  they  submit  their 
drinking  water  and  milk  to  a  scientist  that  they 
may  combat  the  malignant  scourge  at  its  source. 
They  appropriate  the  skill  of  the  surgeon  to  set  a 
broken  bone  or  to  extract  a  bullet  embedded  in  the 
flesh.  They  consider  the  employment  of  natural 
means  to  attain  material  ends  an  obligation  which 
should  not  be  shifted  to  where  it  does  not  properly 
belong.  It  is  God  himself  who  is  creatively  active 
in  natural  processes,  and  it  is  therefore  positively 
sinful  to  be  unwilling  to  conform  to  his  established 
order. 

The  devout  mind  is  disposed  to  draw  lessons  of 
spiritual  import  from  material  disaster.  In  its 
scale  of  values  the  eternal  is  highest  and  the  tem¬ 
poral,  lowest.  Bishop  William  A.  Quayle  finds  in 
the  economic  pressure  of  a  drought  not  so  much 
an  occasion  for  a  petition  for  rain  as  an  opportunity 
to  bring  home  to  men  the  barrenness  and  unfruit¬ 
fulness  of  their  own  lives.  He  expresses  this  senti¬ 
ment:  “We  pray  for  bounteous  harvests  on  the 
plowed  lands  of  the  soul,  where  we  have  had  scant 


160  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

crops  so  long,  so  long,  so  pitifully  long.  We  have 
been  barren  fields,  or  nigh  that.  Dew  have  we 
had  and  rain  and  sunlight  passing  fair  and  sweet, 
and  God  hath  been  with  us,  but  we  heeded  not. 
We  have  grown  shrubs  where  we  should  have 
grown  trees,  and  scrawny  harvests  where  we  could, 
aye,  and  should  have  been  burdened  with  a  yield 
of  an  hundredfold.  .  .  .  Give  to  us  great  soul-crops 
of  love  and  peace  and  joy,  and  a  sound  mind  and 
an  equanimity  which  never  sours  with  discontent, 
we  pray  in  Christ,  our  Master.”7 

SUMMARY 

Prayer  helps  man  to  help  himself.  It  inspires 
him  to  meet  material  obstacles  with  insight  and 
courage.  It  sifts  the  facts  of  life  and  arranges 
them  in  their  proper  order.  It  is  a  factor  in  sub¬ 
duing  and  subordinating  the  forces  of  nature  to 
religious  purposes.  To  be  sure,  prayer  does  not 
relieve  us  of  some  burdens,  but  it  does  infinitely 
more  when  it  helps  us  to  bear  them.  It  con¬ 
structs  a  personality  that  rises  above  vicissitudes 
of  time  and  sense.  Paul  prays  three  times  that  a 
physical  handicap,  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  which  is 
an  impediment  in  his  missionary  labors,  be  re¬ 
moved.  Although  his  actual  petition  is  ungranted 
he  is  given  courage  and  patience  to  bear  his  trial, 
and  becomes  the  greater  man  for  the  discipline. 
“My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee:  for  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness.”  8 


7  Quayle,  William  A.:  The  Climb  to  God,  p.  162.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 

8  2  Corinthians  12:9. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 

A  popular  writer  of  devotional  studies  makes 
no  secret  of  the  futility  of  many  prayers,  saying: 
“Probably  it  is  accurate  to  say  that  thousands  of 
prayers  go  up  and  bring  nothing  down.  This  is 
certainly  true.  Let  us  say  it  just  as  bluntly  and 
as  plainly  as  it  can  be  said.”1  Not  all  are  as  ready 
and  frank  to  admit  the  failures  of  the  prayer  rela¬ 
tion.  Some  assert  that  God  hears  all  prayers,  but 
answers  only  those  which  are  in  accord  with  his 
will  and  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  petitioner. 
They  affirm  that  “no”  is  as  real  an  answer  as  “yes.” 
Nevertheless,  it  must  be  confessed  that  myriads 
of  prayers  are  unanswered  in  the  sense  that  the 
object  of  the  petition  is  never  forthcoming. 

Many  and  varied  are  the  explanations  made  for 
the  ungranted  petition.  We  have  had  occasion 
elsewhere  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  many  attribute 
unanswered  prayers  to  want  of  faith,  indefiniteness, 
lack  of  perseverance,  and  improper  objects  of 
prayer.  It  is  also  maintained  that  many  prayers 
are  indirectly  answered  in  that  the  insignificant 
favor  asked  for  is  ungranted  in  order  that  a  higher 
good  may  be  bestowed.  Often  the  form  of  the 
petition  is  denied,  but  the  substance  is  granted. 
A  passage  in  Saint  Augustine’s  Confessions  describes 


1  Gordon,  S.  D.:  Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer,  p.  67.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 

l6l 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


162 

his  mother,  Monica,  praying  all  one  night  in  a 
chapel  in  Africa  that  God  would  not  let  her  son 
sail  for  Italy.  She  wanted  Augustine  to  become  a 
Christian.  She  did  not  want  him  to  escape  her 
direct  influence.  If  under  her  care  he  resisted  the 
appeal  of  Christianity,  what  would  he  be  in  Italy, 
the  land  of  licentiousness  and  alluring  temptation? 
But  he  sailed  for  Italy  and  there  he  was  converted 
under  the  labors  of  Ambrose.  The  intent  of  the 
mother’s  prayer  was  realized  in  the  country  from 
which  her  petition  would  have  kept  him. 

But  since  prayer  is  in  part  a  human  enterprise 
it  is  not  surprising  that  it  often  fails  to  accomplish 
the  immediate  purpose  of  its  maker.  Prayer  is  a 
human  and  a  divine  process,  an  act  in  which  God 
and  man  cooperate.  Now,  God  is  the  constant 
and  dependable  partner  in  the  transaction,  always 
prompting  man  from  within  to  achieve  the  whole¬ 
ness  and  the  fullness  of  life,  and  ever  expressing 
himself  in  those  uniformities  which  we  call  his 
laws.  It  is  man  who  is  the  variable  factor,  his 
infirmities  and  self-will  often  interfering  with  the 
1/  answering  of  his  prayers.  The  unanswered  prayer 
is  not  the  failure  of  God  to  keep  faith  with  man, 

,  but  it  is  the  failure  of  man  to  adjust  himself  to  the 
r  requirements  of  God. 

UNGRANTED  PERSONAL  PETITIONS 

Prayers  for  things  outside  the  range  of  personal 
and  social  influence  have  already  been  considered 
in  a  chapter  devoted  to  objective  answers;2  it  will, 
therefore,  not  be  necessary  to  discuss  them  here. 


'  Chapter  VII. 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


163 

In  accordance  with  the  psychological  classification 
of  prayer  adopted  in  the  preceding  chapters  atten¬ 
tion  will  first  be  called  to  typical  reasons  for  un¬ 
granted  personal  petitions. 

An  uneasy  conscience. — Now,  since  all  true 
prayer  is  essentially  reverent  and  serious,  and  the 
expression  of  the  soul’s  deepest  religious  desires, 
it  is  normally  impossible  to  maintain  the  devotional 
attitude  against  the  consciousness  of  moral  defects. 
With  rare  penetration  into  the  heart  of  the  matter, 
Mr.  Phelps  writes:  “It  does  not  require  what  the 
world  pronounces  a  great  sin  to  break  up  the  seren¬ 
ity  of  the  soul  in  its  devotional  hours.  The  expe¬ 
rience  of  prayer  has  delicate  complications.  A 
little  thing,  secreted  there,  may  dislocate  its  mechan¬ 
ism  and  arrest  its  movement.”3  The  sacred  writer 
senses  the  effect  of  iniquity  and  describes  it  in  his 
own  unique  way:  “The  Lord  is  far  from  the  wicked: 
but  he  heareth  the  prayer  of  the  righteous.”4  “When 
ye  make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear:  your  hands 
are  full  of  blood.”5  To  be  sure,  when  the  eradica¬ 
tion  of  evil  is  itself  the  burden  of  the  petition,  the 
delicate  mechanism  of  the  devotional  life  is  un¬ 
hampered. 

In  actual  practice  the  moral  standard  is  not 
inflexible  and  fixed  for  all  time.  Moral  require¬ 
ments  necessarily  reflect  the  current  conceptions  of 
right  and  wrong.  Social  judgment  to  a  large  extent 
determines  the  content  of  personal  conscience. 
What  was  regarded  as  right  yesterday  may  be 
found  wrong  to-day.  There  is  in  both  the  race  and 
in  the  individual  a  progressive  moral  revelation. 


3  Phelps,  A.:  The  Still  Hour,  p.  32.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Company. 

4  Proverbs  15:  29. 

*  Isaiah  1: 15. 


164  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


A  case  in  point  is  the  changed  attitude  of  thousands 
toward  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  Where  once 
the  moderate  use  of  alcoholic  beverages  was  not 
only  tolerated,  but  ardently  defended,  there  may 
be  to-day  an  unwavering  stand  for  total  abstinence. 
It  follows  that  what  would  be  an  unethical  petition 
for  one  would  not  necessarily  be  so  for  another, 
and  what  would  leave  the  prayer  relation  of  one 
undisturbed  could  create  a  breach  in  the  devo¬ 
tional  life  of  another. 

The  seriousness  with  which  ethical  and  religious 
hindrances  to  prayer  are  regarded  varies  with  their 
power  over  the  individual.  Whatever  has  become 
a  moral  or  religious  obligation,  be  it  ever  so  trivial 
or  important,  must  be  sacredly  respected,  lest  the 
inner  harmony  of  the  prayer  life  be  disturbed. 
The  prayer  must  be  in  accord  with  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  petitioner.  Miss  Strong  cites  the 
experience  of  a  young  man  converted  under  the 
labors  of  Finney,  the  great  evangelist.  When 
Finney’s  preaching  was  reaching  many  it  became 
the  custom  for  seekers  to  retire  to  the  woods  to 
pray.  As  a  rule,  they  returned  rejoicing.  Although 
this  young  man  spent  a  whole  night  on  his  knees 
in  prayer,  and  actually  knelt  in  a  mud-puddle,  to 
persuade  himself  that  it  was  not  false  pride  that 
restrained  him,  the  unwillingness  to  go  into  the 
woods  became  such  a  point  of  tension  as  utterly 
to  distract  him.  After  weeks  of  struggle,  he  yielded, 
retired  to  the  woods  and  quickly  resolved  the  con¬ 
flict  through  prayer.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of 
Finney  that  he  regarded  the  matter  of  praying  in 
the  woods  as  of  no  consequence,  and  that  in  this 
particular  he  differed  radically  from  many  other 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS  165 

revivalists  who  make  compliance  with  certain  forms 
and  methods  a  prerequisite  to  salvation.6 

Theological  struggles. — In  our  Christian  civiliza¬ 
tion  the  attitude  toward  the  fundamental  doctrines 
as  set  forth  by  the  various  religious  denominations 
profoundly  affects  the  prayer  experience.  To 
reject  a  cardinal  belief,  while  subconsciously  con¬ 
vinced  of  its  truth,  is  to  bring  about  a  spiritual 
chaos  which  endures  until  the  fullest  assent  is 
accorded  the  disturbing  article  of  faith.  There  are 
many  cases  recorded  which  demonstrate  that  peti¬ 
tioners  for  the  conversion  experience  have  prayed 
without  success  until  the  deity  of  Christ  has  been 
acknowledged. 

Bishop  Robert  McIntyre’s  conversion  is  illumi¬ 
nating.  He  writes:  “Lying  prone  at  an  altar  in  a 
sanctuary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  Saint  Louis,  I  was  convicted  after  days 
of  inward  conflict,  completely  humbled  in  spirit. 
I  feared,  struggled,  agonized.  My  will  was  broken, 
my  heart  riven,  my  flesh  cold,  my  breath  choked. 
I  could  barely  live  on  the  border-line  of  conscious¬ 
ness.  I  had  denied  the  deity  of  Christ,  and  still 
blinded  by  mental  and  moral  perversity,  I  shrank 
from  the  one  great  final  leap  to  the  cross.  As  I 
brokenly  moaned  the  Deist’s  invocation,  ‘0  God, 
save  me,’  a  silver-haired  saint  ceased  singing  in  the 
band  near  by,  kneeled  beside  the  chancel  rail, 
listened  to  my  piteous  cry,  saw  the  knot  that  was 
strangling  my  spiritual  life,  and  swiftly  loosed  it 
with  the  words,  ‘Ask  God  to  save  you  for  Jesus’ 
sake.’  In  desperation  I  flung  all  my  infidelity  from 

«  Strong,  A.  L.:  The  Psychology  of  Prayer,  p.  106.  University  of  Chicago  Press. 
For  a  description  of  growth  in  prayer  discrimination,  see  page  soflf. 


1 66  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

me,  hung  all  my  hope  on  his  holy  name,  called 
him  by  faith  my  Lord  forever,  and  said  the  sentence 
which  was  my  soul’s  solemn  and  eternal  committal 
to  the  Most  High  in  his  appointed  way.  I  took 
the  omnipotent  words  from  her,  dipped  them 
deep  in  my  heart’s  blood,  and  slowly  as  one  who 
faces  doom  and  has  no  other  plea,  sobbed  out,  ‘O 
God,  for  Jesus’  sake,  save  me.’  While  yet  the  Name 
was  on  my  lips  a  light  sweetened  all  my  being, 
the  pressure  of  a  mountain  of  guilt  lifted,  a  stream 
of  mercy  flowed  around  me,  smiles  broke  through 
my  tears,  and  stammeringly,  wonderingly  with 
holy  awe  upon  me  I  tried  to  tell  it,  as  I  have  done 
ever  since.” 

Temperamental  disqualifications. — Many  persons 
are  temperamentally  disqualified  from  receiving  the 
dramatic  and  striking  answers  to  prayer  which  they 
so  earnestly  covet  and  so  firmly  expect.  Professor 
Coe,  as  indicated  elsewhere,  has  shown  the  vital 
relation  of  temperament  to  religious  experiences. 
His  statistics  demonstrate  that  when  religious  expe¬ 
riences  in  terms  of  voices  and  visions  occur,  the 
element  of  sensibility  predominates  and  the  per- 
sons  are  either  of  the  sanguine  or  melancholic 
^  temperament.  Those  who  are  highly  emotional 
and  imaginative  in  general  are  the  ones  most  likely 
to  receive  startling  answers  to  prayer  in  the  form 
of  outward  projections  of  inward  states.  The 
writer  has  studied  with  absorbing  interest  a  young 
man  whose  religious  life  is  characterized  by  emo¬ 
tional  excitement  and  dramatic  occurrences.  It  is 
noticeable  that  his  whole  life  is  significantly  influ¬ 
enced  by  these  temperamental  characteristics.  One 
day,  after  an  arduous  but  fruitless  pursuit  of  game, 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


167 


he  finally  succeeded  in  bringing  down  a  small  animal. 
His  joy  knew  no  bounds,  and  was  expressed  by 
wild  leaps  into  the  air  and  the  firing  of  his  gun, 
to  the  imminent  peril  of  his  fellow  hunters. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  who  expect  striking 
and  emotional  religious  transformations  in  response 
to  prayer  are  disappointed  because  their  prominent 
mental  trait  is  the  intellect,  and  the  choleric  tem¬ 
perament  obtains.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that 
the  experiences  of  the  highly  emotional  and  sug¬ 
gestible  have  been  adopted  as  standards  by  some 
of  the  religious  denominations.  The  efforts  of 
many  genuinely  religious  persons  to  conform  their 
religious  experiences  to  the  type  in  favor  with 
their  respective  churches,  despite  temperamental 
disqualifications,  are  truly  pathetic  and  often  lead 
to  a  tragic  revolt  against  religion  itself.  Professor 
Coe  quotes  a  person  who  expected,  but  for  temper¬ 
amental  reasons  failed  to  obtain,  a  striking  conver¬ 
sion.  The  disappointed  person  says,  “Often  I  arose 
from  my  knees  almost  mad  at  myself  for  praying 
after  having  prayed  so  often  without  results.”7  It 
is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  peculiar  constitution 
of  the  mind  determines  the  form  of  the  effect  of 
the  petition. 

Lack  of  perseverance. — Doubtless,  many  unan¬ 
swered  prayers  are  due  to  a  lack  of  perseverance 
until  one  feels  prompted  from  within  to  cease  con¬ 
scious  striving  and  to  surrender  to  the  religious 
forces.  In  the  language  of  prayer,  one  should 
“pray  through.”  The  expression  is  suggestive. 
Many  writers  of  devotional  literature  emphasize 
it.  One  author  says:  “Too  many  fail  to  pray 


7  Coe,  G.  A.:  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  149.  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


1 68  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

through.  If  the  request  is  not  granted  at  the  first 
or  second  asking,  they  cease  praying  and  say, 
‘Perhaps  it  isn’t  God’s  will,’  and  this  they  call  sub¬ 
mission.  Dr.  Torrey  calls  it  ‘spiritual  laziness.’  ”8 
Another  writes:  “The  strong  man  of  prayer,  when 
he  starts  to  pray  for  a  thing,  keeps  on  praying 
until  he  prays  it  through,  and  obtains  what  he 
seeks.”9 

The  regular  procedure  is  to  continue  the  prayer 
until  one  feels  ripe  for  self-surrender.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  temptation  to  yield  the  self  in  response 
to  pressure  from  without  before  one  intuitively 
feels  prepared.  Premature  self-surrender  under 
such  a  social  pressure  as  an  exciting  revival  is  doubt¬ 
less  responsible  for  many  subsequent  relapses. 
Before  the  new  life  has  fully  matured  and  is  of  its 
own  accord  seeking  control,  self-surrender  is  worse 
than  useless.  When  the  product  of  prayer  is  ready 
to  report  itself  it  may  be  trusted  to  do  so  without 
external  pressure.  The  teaching  of  Jesus  as  set 
forth  in  his  parables  of  the  importunate  widow,10 
and  the  midnight  visitor,11  is  a  remarkable  plea  for 
perseverance  in  prayer  until  the  answer  comes. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  psychology,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  appreciate  the  necessity  of  a  faith  which 
knows  no  respite  until  it  has  served  its  purpose. 

Negative  suggestion. — What  we  have  called  neg¬ 
ative  suggestion  is  another  prolific  source  of  prayer 
failure.  In  the  discussion  of  suggestion  it  was 
pointed  out  that,  in  order  to  be  most  effective,  the 
suggested  idea  should  be  positive  in  form.  Since 

8  Biederwolf,  W.  G.:  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer /  p.  2x6.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company. 

9  Torrey,  R.  A.:  How  to  Pray,  p.  66.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 

10  Luke  18:  1-8. 

11  Luke  11 :  s-13. 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


169 


whatever  is  in  the  mind  tends  to  express  itself, 
only  what  one  desires  to  attain  should  engage  the 
attention.  To  hold  in  mind  vices  which  it  is  the 
purpose  of  prayer  to  expel  is  to  imperil  the  success 
of  prayer. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  placed  upon  the 
central  fact  of  suggestion.  An  idea,  attended  to, 
generates  belief  in  itself  and,  unless  inhibited, 
expresses  itself.  The  fundamental  principle  of  sug¬ 
gestion  rests  back  upon  the  doctrine  that  all  con¬ 
sciousness  is  motor.  Doubtless,  too  many  prayers 
are  worse  than  useless  because  the  mind  is  not 
filled  with  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  positive  virtues. 
Since  the  mental  imagery  of  the  undesirable  has  a 
tendency  to  intrench  it  the  more  firmly,  let  the 
liar  pray  for  the  spirit  of  truthfulness,  the  thief 
for  the  inner  principle  of  honesty,  the  sick  for  health. 
Let  the  growth  of  positive  virtues  eliminate  evil. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
no  prayer  clothed  in  negative  terms  is  effectual. 
It  is  conceivable  that  in  some  cases  a  negative 
prayer  may  act  as  a  means  whereby  the  personality 
is  purged  of  unwholesome  elements.  A  case  in 
point  is  the  prayer  of  confession  which  will  be 
studied  in  the  next  chapter.  We  shall  see  that 
mental  states  which  are  at  variance  with  the  moral 
standards  and  which  are  not  released  through 
prayer  or  some  other  form  of  confession  create  a 
subconscious  disturbance  which  may  bring  on 
hysteria.  The  spiritual  mind  may  be  intrusted 
with  the  delicate  task  of  determining  for  itself  when 
prayer  should  be  employed  as  a  channel  of  dis¬ 
charge  for  morbid  inner  states.  Such  a  mind  will 
likewise  follow,  even  in  its  prayers,  the  advice  of 


170  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Saint  Paul  to  think  on  “whatsoever  things  are  true, 
whatsoever  things  are  honorable,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report.” 

Vain  repetitions. — Many  prayers  are  ineffectual 
because  they  are  vain  reiterations,  repetitions  that  lack 
the  vital  breath  of  desire.  Hypocrisy,  mental  indo¬ 
lence,  lack  of  initiative,  habit,  and  the  perfunctory 
observance  of  the  externals  of  religion,  are  some  of 
their  sources.  Mr.  Phelps  says,  “Perhaps  even  so 
slight  a  thing  as  the  pain  of  resistance  to  the  mo¬ 
mentum  of  a  habit  will  be  found  to  be  the  most 
distinct  reason  we  can  honestly  give  for  having 
prayed  yesterday  or  to-day.”12  Although  the  Lord’s 
Prayer  was  given  to  counteract  the  tendency  to 
use  vain  repetitions,  it  itself  has  frequently  become 
upon  the  lips  of  thousands  a  meaningless  form. 

When  the  act  of  prayer  becomes  purely  auto¬ 
matic,  it  may  generate  vitality  and  drain  off  through 
its  open  functional  channels  any  distracting  im¬ 
pressions  which  tend  to  interrupt  its  reiteration; 
the  vain  repetitions  as  automatism  set  energy  free 
which  may  be  expended  in  attending  to  something 
wholly  foreign  to  the  spirit  of  devotion.  Instead 
of  stimulating  the  subconscious  in  the  direction  of 
the  answer  to  the  prayer  framed  by  the  lips,  the 
insincere  or  thoughtless  petition  may  arouse  activ¬ 
ities  positively  inimicable  to  the  higher  life.  As 
an  example  one  may  refer  to  the  misuse  of  the 
rosary.  While  praying  under  the  guidance  of  this 
mechanical  device,  the  petitioner  may  automatically 
reiterate  the  series  of  Pater  Nosters,  Ave  Marias, 
and  Glorias,  and  be  all  the  time  meditating  some¬ 
thing  at  the  farthest  remove  from  the  “mysteries.” 


11  Phelps,  A.:  The  Still  Hour,  p.  13.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Company. 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


171 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  vain  repetition  turns  on 
itself  and  may  become  instrumental  in  subverting 
the  moral  life. 

Periods  of  spiritual  dryness. — Many  prayers 
made  during  periods  of  spiritual  dryness  are  unan¬ 
swered.  The  course  of  life  may  for  some  time 
continue  to  be  so  even  and  uneventful  that  prayer, 
if  offered  at  all,  has  its  rise  in  a  sense  of  religious 
obligation  and  not  in  an  emergency.  An  unbroken 
and  uneventful  course  of  living  offers  too  little  occa¬ 
sion  for  prayer;  hence  the  praying  which  does  occur 
is  either  almost  automatic  or  a  painful  effort  to 
hold  in  mental  focus  an  idea  inherently  too  tame 
readily  to  attract  and  grip  the  attention.  Times  of 
spiritual  dryness  occasion  much  dejection  and 
depression  among  earnest  religious  souls  who  ascribe 
them  to  hardness  and  unbelief  of  heart.  The  very 
anguish  and  torture  of  mind  which  such  persons 
suffer  in  consequence  of  their  inability  to  maintain 
a  keen  interest  in  the  prayer  life  against  periods 
of  religious  drought  is  in  itself  proof  that  what  they 
lack  is  not  belief  but  fresh  experiences.  It  is  only 
natural  that  the  crises  rather  than  the  uneventful 
periods  of  life  give  rise  to  most  of  the  effectual 
prayers.  Therefore  devout  souls  should  not  despair 
when  times  of  spiritual  dearth  come.  The  tendency 
of  effective  prayer  is  to  vary  directly  with  the 
vicissitudes  of  life.  From  this  point  of  view  it  is 
perfectly  intelligible  why  the  rosary  is  considered 
so  essential  to  devotion  by  those  who  lead  the 
secluded  and  monotonous  existence  of  the  cloister. 

Lack  of  rest  periods. — If  the  prayer  made  in¬ 
volves  a  complex  subconscious  process  and  hence 
a  long  series  of  repetitions,  occasional  periods  of  rest 


1 72 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


should  be  observed.  The  answer  comes  more  quickly 
in  some  cases  than  in  others.  One  is  warranted  in 
anticipating  that  under  normal  conditions  the 
time  consumed  in  answering  the  petition  varies 
v-  directly  with  the  complexity  of  the  object.  The 
petition  for  the  calming  of  the  excited  personality 
may  be  answered  instantaneously,  but  the  prayer 
of  a  sin-sick  soul  for  regeneration  requires  frequent 
reiteration  and  a  much  longer  period  of  time.  It 
requires  less  time  to  induce  a  momentary  state  of 
confidence  than  it  does  to  construct  a  new  self. 
It  is  clear  that  rest  periods  are  out  of  the  question 
in  prayers  which  are  answered  almost  immediately, 
but  they  should  occur  during  the  growth  of  a  com¬ 
plex  answer. 

While  an  active  faith  is  straining  in  the  general 
direction  of  an  intricate  prayer  response,  innumer¬ 
able  hindering  tendencies  are  at  the  same  time 
being  built  up.  If  no  rest  is  taken,  the  inhibiting 
processes  are  likely  to  become  so  developed  as  to 
undo  the  work  in  the  right  direction.  During  a 
period  of  rest  the  less  firmly  intrenched  misdirected 
activities  tend  to  atrophy,  while  the  more  deeply 
ingrained  correct  impressions  mature.  The  time 
required  for  the  subconscious  growth  of  many 
objects  of  prayer  doubtless  accounts  for  some  cases 
of  so-called  delayed  answers.  Many  seekers  for 
peace  through  conversion  respond  to  the  appeals 
of  two  or  more  revivals  with  intervening  periods 
of  rest  during  the  summer,  before  the  self  is  actually 
reborn.  One  such  person  states  that  she  was  uncon¬ 
verted  in  a  certain  revival  because  she  was  not 
yet  ripe  for  the  experience. 

Want  of  faith. — As  has  been  repeatedly  stated, 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


173 


the  most  frequent  reason  given  for  unanswered 
prayer  is  want  of  faith.  The  apostle  says:  “But 
let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering.  For  he 
that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  with 
the  wind  and  tossed.  For  let  not  that  man  think 
that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord.”14  Lack 
of  faith  is  unquestionably  a  primary  cause  of  failure. 
In  order  to  be  kept  burning,  the  flame  of  faith  must 
be  constantly  fed.  The  judicious  reading  of  prayer 
literature,  the  testimony  of  others  whose  prayer 
life  is  inspirational,  the  recollection  of  positive  past 
experiences  all  nourish  the  faith  state.  It  will  v 
hardly  be  necessary  to  repeat  that  without  faith, 
both  active  and  receptive,  effective  prayer  is  out 
of  the  question. 

UNGRANTED  SOCIAL  PETITIONS 

Prayers  the  answering  of  which  includes  the 
cooperation  of  one  or  more  other  selves,  tend  to 
construct  and  employ  a  process  of  social  suggestion. 
Representative  psychological  features  which  under¬ 
mine  the  effect  of  such  prayers  should  receive  the 
careful  attention  they  merit  by  all  to  whom  the 
religious  life  is  fundamental.  Ignorance  of  the 
bounds  which  a  wise  ruler  of  all  has  set  for  the 
social  petition  is  the  occasion  of  much  religious 
confusion  and  skepticism. 

Lack  of  information. — It  will  be  recalled  that 
the  success  of  prayers  for  the  cooperation  of  an¬ 
other  involves  social  suggestion.  In  all  such  prayers 
two  extremes  invite  failure — entire  ignorance  of 
them  on  the  part  of  the  person  to  be  influenced 
and  too  direct  intimation  of  them.  Where  there 


14  James  1:6,  7. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


is  no  hint  received  there  can  be  no  social  suggestion. 
Although  the  avenues  through  which  we  receive  in¬ 
formation  are  countless,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many 
social  prayers  are  unanswered  because  the  proper 
persons  have  no  knowledge  of  them.  There  is  much 
to  be  said  for  the  small  boy  who  prayed  for 
Christmas  presents  in  a  voice  perfectly  audible  to 
his  rather  deaf  grandmother  who  was  hearing  his 
evening  prayer.  Although  he  was  addressing  the 
heavenly  throne,  he  was  conscious  that  it  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  his  grandmother  knew 
just  what  he  wanted  for  Christmas. 

Of  course  the  mere  fact  that  an  unbroken  chain 
of  communication  exists  between  the  petitioner 
and  the  self  upon  which  the  answer  depends  is  not 
a  pledge  of  reciprocity.  The  suggestibility  of  the 
receiver  of  the  prayer  determines  his  willingness 
to  answer  it.  Since  women  are  more  suggestible 
than  men,  one  would  expect  them  to  respond  to 
social  prayers  more  readily  than  men  do.15  In  men 
the  intellect  is  more  prominent,  the  emotions  are 
focused  on  definite  objects  and  at  specific  times, 
their  resistance  to  influences  from  without  is  greater. 
In  women  sensibility  is  more  pronounced,  the  emo¬ 
tions  are  more  constant,  docile,  and  diffused;  they 
yield  more  readily  to  external  influences.  In  view 
of  these  differences  in  mental  structure,  the  opinion 
is  volunteered  that  women  are  more  likely  to  respond 
to  the  appeal  of  social  prayers  than  men. 

Direct  suggestions. — On  the  other  hand,  too  much 
and  too  direct  information  is  prone  to  result  in 
counter  suggestion.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 

16  See  Ellis,  Havelock:  Man  and  Woman,  Chap.  XII.  Charles  Scribner’s 
Sons. 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


175 


male  sex  with  its  marked  tendency  to  resist  ordinary 
external  pressure.  Indirect  social  suggestion  in  the 
form  of  mere  hints  and  intimations  is  likely  to 
induce  the  highest  state  of  suggestibility.  Dr. 
Sidis  formulates  what  he  calls  the  law  of  normal 
or  waking  suggestion  as  follows:  “Normal  suggesti¬ 
bility  varies  as  indirect  suggestion,  and  inversely 
as  direct  suggestion.”16  In  other  words,  “In  the 
normal  state  a  suggestion  is  more  effective  the 
more  indirect  it  is,  and  in  proportion  as  it  becomes 
direct,  it  loses  its  efficacy.”17  Among  his  examples 
of  indirect  suggestion,  the  following  may  be  quoted: 
“My  friend  Mr.  A.  is  absent-minded;  he  sits  near 
the  table,  thinking  of  some  abstruse  mathematical 
problem  that  baffles  all  his  efforts  to  solve  it.  Ab¬ 
sorbed  in  the  solution  of  that  intractable  problem, 
he  is  blind  and  deaf  to  what  is  going  on  around 
him.  His  eyes  are  directed  on  the  table,  but  he 
appears  not  to  see  any  of  the  objects  there.  I  put 
two  glasses  of  water  on  the  table,  and  at  short 
intervals  make  passes  in  the  direction  of  the  glasses 
— passes  which  he  seems  not  to  perceive;  then  I 
resolutely  stretch  out  my  hand,  take  one  of  the 
glasses,  and  begin  to  drink.  My  friend  follows 
suit — dreamily  he  raises  his  hand,  takes  the  glass 
and  begins  to  sip,  awakening  fully  to  consciousness 
when  a  good  part  of  the  tumbler  is  emptied.”18 
To  tell  the  person  openly  and  plainly  what  is  ex¬ 
pected  of  him  is  to  invite  the  failure  of  the  sug¬ 
gestion:  hence,  some  object  is  produced  or  some 
appropriate  gesture  or  movement  is  made,  and 
these  in  their  own  subtle  way  tell  him  what  to  do. 

15  Sidis,  Boris:  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  55.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

17  Ibid.,  p.  52. 

is  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


176  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Applying  the  law  of  normal  suggestion  to  the 
prayer  relation,  which  has  for  its  purpose  the  con¬ 
trol  of  others,  it  is  evident  that  when  a  mere  inkling 
is  sown  into  a  receptive  mind,  the  harvest  is  likely 
to  be  much  more  abundant  than  when  much  infor¬ 
mation  is  directly  given  and  received.  Religious 
interest  may  be  expressed  in  a  look  or  attitude  of 
concern,  a  warm  handshake,  or  between  the  lines 
of  a  letter.  We  have  observed  how  the  personality 
responds  to  the  immediate  stimuli  too  delicate  to  be 
consciously  noted.  To  pray  at  a  person  is,  then, 
to  subject  the  social  petition  to  needless  opposition. 
The  most  auspicious  circumstances  for  the  influence 
of  the  social  prayer  obtain  when  the  petitioner 
himself  and  the  self  to  be  reached  associate  under 
normal  conditions  and  no  conscious  and  direct 
effort  is  made.  The  sensibility  of  the  subconscious 
may  be  relied  upon  to  interpret  the  hints  of  the 
prayer  and  the  delicate  manifestations  of  the  reli¬ 
gious  interest  of  the  petitioner. 

The  outcome  of  the  social  prayer  is  relatively 
dependent  upon  the  ability  of  the  transmitter  of 
religious  influence  to  give  subtle  indications  of  his 
inward  states,  and  upon  the  receiver’s  capacity  to 
interpret  the  delicate  impressions  and  his  suggesti¬ 
bility  to  them.  Some  persons  are  notoriously 
inefficient  transmitters;  a  stolid  exterior  hides  their 
inner  lives.  Others  are  all  the  time  exhibiting  the 
tell-tale  signs  of  what  is  moving  them;  their  out¬ 
ward  manifestations  of  inward  and  invisible  activ¬ 
ities  are  unmistakable.  The  difference  in  receivers 
is  fully  as  marked.  Some  are  unusually  receptive 
and  place  great  reliance  upon  their  impressions  and 
intuitions.  Others  belong  to  the  unfortunate  class 


UNGRANTED  PETITIONS 


*77 


of  persons  who  seemingly  cannot  take  a  hint.  When 
a  social  prayer  proceeds  from  an  expressive  trans¬ 
mitter  and  reaches  an  impressionable  and  responsive 
receiver  the  conditions  for  a  positive  result  are 
favorable. 


CHAPTER  IX 


PRAYERS  OF  CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 

Prayer  is  infinitely  more  than  a  petition  for 
special  favors.  Much  of  it  is  devotional  rather 
than  petitional.  Prayer  implies  a  reverential  atti¬ 
tude,  a  mode  of  self-expression,  meditation  on 
life’s  deepest  problems,  a  deepening  of  right  pur¬ 
pose,  and  a  communion  with  the  Invisible.  It 
may  be  an  end  in  itself  rather  than  a  means  to  an 
end.  This  type  of  prayer  relation  we  call  devo¬ 
tional,  as  distinguished  from  the  petitional.  It 
embraces  the  prayers  of  confession,  adoration, 
worship,  thanksgiving,  consecration,  submission, 
communion,  and  aspiration.  The  first  four  men¬ 
tioned  are  structurally  related.  Petitional  prayer 
contributes  something  of  value  to  the  self,  while 
confession,  adoration,  worship,  and  thanksgiving 
relieve  the  self  of  urges  and  impulses.  One  type  of 
prayer  constructs  a  more  unified  and  morally  com¬ 
petent  personality  by  a  process  of  addition;  the 
other,  by  a  process  of  subtraction.  The  key  to  the 
psychological  description  of  the  latter  is  psycho¬ 
analysis. 

PSYCHOANALYSIS 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  give  a  concise  and 
precise  definition  of  the  word  “psychoanalysis.” 
The  term  does  not  denote  a  specific  manifestation 
of  the  mind  like  memory  or  emotion,  or  a  mental 
structure  like  suggestion.  As  the  word  itself  indi- 

178 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


179 


cates,  psychoanalysis  involves  an  analysis  or  a 
dissection  of  the  mental  life.  It  is  a  method  of 
discovering  and  terminating  morbid  states  of  mind, 
a  treatment  employed  in  the  cure  of  certain  nervous 
disorders.  In  its  wider  application,  however,  psy¬ 
choanalysis  is  a  mode  of  procedure  for  delving  down 
into  the  depths  of  human  nature  and  bringing  to 
light  the  motives  and  the  past  experiences  which 
underlie  them  and  which  determine  present  atti¬ 
tudes  and  actions.  Originally  psychoanalysis  was 
restricted  to  the  cure  of  certain  diseases,  but  now 
it  is  extended  to  such  phenomena  as  wit,  dreams, 
the  artistic  temperament,  fairy  tales,  folklore, 
mythology.  In  its  essential  features  it  is  mental 
surgery  laying  bare  unfulfilled  wishes  and  desires, 
which  though  unexpressed  and  for  the  most  part 
unknown  by  the  subject,  definitely  influence  and 
modify  conduct.  ,  * 

For  countless  ages  man  has  sought  and  found 
relief  and  satisfaction  through  self-expression.  The 
racial  experience  is  expressed  in  the  phrase,  “  Con¬ 
fession  is  good  for  the  soul.”  The  inelegant  state¬ 
ment  that  it  is  a  relief  to  get  certain  things  “ou<t 
of  our  system”  voices  the  same  truth.  Religious 
leaders  recommend  confession  to  one  another,  to 
the  pastor,  or  to  God.  Family  quarrels  which  do 
not  originate  in  a  controversy  touching  the  funda¬ 
mentals  of  marital  relations  often  tend  to  clear 
the  domestic  atmosphere.  Some  persons  discharge 
their  wrath  and  indignation  against  a  trying  corre¬ 
spondent  in  a  violent  letter  which  is  consigned  to 
the  wastebasket  immediately  after  its  composition. 
Criminals  at  large,  crushed  by  the  weight  of  uncon¬ 
fessed  crimes,  frequently  surrender  themselves  to 


i8o 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


the  police,  preferring  the  sentence  of  the  court  to 
the  qualms  of  conscience.  Pent-up  emotions  escape 
through  vocal  expression  and  grief  exhausts  itself 
in  cries  and  tears.  Shakespeare  in  Macbeth  makes 
Malcolm  say  to  Macduff,  who  has  been  told  that 
his  wife  and  babies  have  been  murdered: 

“Give  sorrow  words:  the  grief  that  does  not  speak 
Whispers  the  o’er-fraught  heart  and  bids  it  break.” 

Wordsworth,  in  his  poem  “Intimations  of  Immor¬ 
tality,”  says: 

“To  me  alone  there  came  a  thought  of  grief, 

A  timely  utterance  gave  that  thought  relief, 

And  I  again  am  strong.” 

Tennyson,  in  one  of  the  most  melodious  of  the 
lyrics  scattered  throughout  “The  Princess,”  intro¬ 
duces  a  like  conception: 

“Home  they  brought  her  warrior  dead; 

She  nor  swooned  nor  uttered  cry; 

All  her  maidens  watching,  said, 

‘She  must  weep  or  she  will  die.’ 

“Rose  a  nurse  of  ninety  years, 

Set  his  child  upon  her  knee — 

Like  summer  tempest  came  her  tears — 

‘Sweet,  my  child,  I  live  for  thee.’  ” 

THE  RISE  OF  PSYCHOANALYSIS 

The  experience  which  men  for  ages  found  service¬ 
able  was  at  last  systematically  studied.  Its  leading 
principles  received  scientific  definition  at  a  compar¬ 
atively  recent  date.1  As  was  to  be  expected, 

1  For  a  popular  statement  of  the  history,  theory  and  practice  of  various  schools, 
see  Tridon,  Andre:  Psychoanalysis .  B.  W.  Huebsch. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


181 


researches  and  findings  in  this  difficult  field  resulted 
in  various  interpretations  and  rival  schools  of 
theory  and  practice.  To  trace  these  diverging 
developments  would  carry  us  too  far  away  from 
present  purposes  and  requirements.  Nevertheless, 
a  statement  of  the  origin  and  rise  of  psychoanalysis 
will  throw  light  upon  the  nature  and  value  of  this 
method. 

Aristotelian  katharsis. — Among  the  precursors  of 
the  modern  psychoanalysis  none  is  of  more  im¬ 
portance  than  Aristotle,  the  Greek  philosopher. 
He  was  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  when  certain 
mental  states  are  released  the  personality  is  purified 
and  refined.  This  process  he  calls  katharsis ,  and 
perceives  it  as  the  function  of  tragedy.  He  defines 
tragedy  as  follows:  “Tragedy  is  an  imitation  of  an 
action  that  is  serious,  complete,  and  of  a  certain 
magnitude;  in  language  embellished  with  each  kind 
of  artistic  ornament,  the  several  kinds  being  found 
in  separate  parts  of  the  play;  in  form  of  action, 
not  of  narrative;  through  pity  and  fear  effecting 
the  proper  katharsis ,  or  purgation,  of  these  emo¬ 
tions.”2  We  are  here  concerned  with  his  theory 
of  katharsis.  While  the  meaning  of  katharsis  has 
baffled  many  of  Aristotle’s  interpreters,  the  following 
exposition  is  illuminative:  “In  the  medical  language 
of  the  school  of  Hippocrates  it  [ katharsis ]  strictly 
denotes  the  removal  of  a  painful  or  disturbing 
element  from  the  organism,  and  hence  the  purify¬ 
ing  of  what  remains,  by  the  elimination  of  alien 
matter.  Applying  this  to  tragedy,  we  observe  that 
the  feelings  of  pity  and  fear  in  real  life  contain  a 

2  Translated  by  Butcher,  S.  H.:  Aristotle’s  Theory  of  Poetry  and  Fine  Art, 
p.  240.  The  Macmillan  Company. 


182  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 

morbid  and  disturbing  element.  In  the  process  of 
tragic  excitation  they  find  relief,  and  the  morbid 
element  is  thrown  off.  As  the  tragic  action  pro¬ 
gresses,  when  the  tumult  of  the  mind,  first  roused, 
has  afterward  subsided,  the  lower  forms  of  emotion 
are  found  to  have  been  transmuted  into  higher  and 
more  refined  forms.  The  painful  element  in  the 
pity  and  fear  of  reality  is  purged  away;  the  emo¬ 
tions  themselves  are  purged.”3 

Freud’s  theory. — It  has  remained  for  Sigmund 
Freud  and  his  associates  to  elaborate,  popularize 
and  apply  a  conception  of  katharsis  called  psycho¬ 
analysis.4  The  principles  of  psychoanalysis  as  laid 
bare  by  him  and  others  throw  light  upon  the  prayer 
life  in  general  and  particularly  upon  such  devo¬ 
tional  forms  as  confession,  thanksgiving,  adora¬ 
tion,  and  worship.  A  knowledge  of  the  funda¬ 
mentals  of  psychoanalysis  is  therefore  essential  to 
an  appreciation  of  the  psychology  of  these  prayer 
varieties. 

A  careful  study  of  hysteria  convinced  Freud 
that  its  cause  is  invariably  a  partially  suppressed 
idea  at  variance  with  the  social  or  aesthetic  ideals 
and  pretensions  of  the  patient.  The  irritating  idea 
or  impression,  together  with  the  feelings  and  emo¬ 
tions  which  accompany  it,  has  been  called  a  complex 
by  Dr.  Carl  G.  Jung,  another  psychoanalyst.  The 
idea  lingers  in  the  subconscious5 6  and  is  repulsed 
whenever  it  tends  to  emerge  into  clear  consciousness. 
Within  the  subconscious  it  creates  a  disturbance 


3  Translated  by  Butcher,  S.  H.:  Aristotle's  Theory  of  Poetry  and  Fine  Art, 
p.  240.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

4 See  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  vol.  xxi,  p.  18 iff.  Also  his  A  General 

I ntroduction  to  Psychoanalysis.  Boni  &  Liveright. 

6  Freud  and  psychoanalysis  generally  use  the  term  “unconscious”  instead  of 
subconscious. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


183 


which  brings  into  sympathetic  vibration  the  rest 
of  life.  It  affects  the  mind  in  the  same  way  as  a 
foreign  substance  in  the  eye  or  a  splinter  in  the 
flesh  irritates  the  body.  When  unreleased,  the 
unconfessed  or  unexpelled  mental  irritation  induces 
hysteria. 

Professor  Freud  cites  a  case  in  point  treated  by 
his  precursor,  teacher  and  coworker,  Dr.  Joseph 
Breuer.  The  patient,  who  exhibited  the  charac¬ 
teristic  symptoms  of  hysteria,  was  for  a  period  of 
six  weeks  tormented  by  thirst,  being  unable  to  drink 
water.  As  soon  as  a  glass  of  water  touched  her 
lips  she  would  push  it  away  as  though  suffering 
from  hydrophobia.  Finally,  it  developed  that  she 
had  once  seen  a  little  dog  that  she  abhorred  drink 
water  out  of  a  glass  in  the  room  of  her  governess. 
Restrained  by  the  dictates  of  her  code  of  etiquette, 
she  did  not  remonstrate  with  the  governess,  but 
the  scene  and  her  feeling  of  repugnance  disturbed 
her.  Consigned  to  repression  whenever  it  sought 
conscious  recognition,  the  irritating  element  only 
increased  its  hysterical  influence. 

In  all  such  cases,  the  personality  fails  to  assim¬ 
ilate  the  distracting  experience,  trying  in  vain  to 
banish  it  from  the  mind,  to  submerge  it.  It  ex¬ 
presses  itself  in  the  symptoms  of  hysteria  and  similar 
diseased  states.  These  symptoms  and  manifesta¬ 
tions  are  but  the  symbols  of  the  submerged,  but 
active  element  unacceptable  to  the  controlling 
ideals.  It  is  often  extremely  difficult  to  recognize 
and  to  trace  to  their  source  the  distorted  forms  in 
which  the  offending  idea  expresses  itself.  When 
the  case  is  of  long  standing,  the  unassimilated 
experience  may  have  manifested  itself  in  such 


i84  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


complicated  and  bizarre  symptoms  that  it  is  ex¬ 
tremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  discover  it. 

MENTAL  CONDITIONS  AND  MATERIALS  INVOLVED 

To  what  states  and  expressions  of  the  mind  may 
the  pathological  disturbances  be  traced?  What 
does  the  process  of  psychoanalysis  itself  reveal  as 
the  sources  of  hysteria  and  similar  nervous  con¬ 
ditions?  Freud’s  observations  and  experiments  led 
him  to  conclude  that  the  morbid  disorder  is  the 
result  of  a  conspiracy  of  three  influences — haunting 
memories,  traits  having  their  origin  in  childhood, 
and  the  reproductive  instinct.  His  contention  is 
that  it  is  a  combination  of  these  elements  which 
manifests  itself  in  characteristic  hysterical  symp¬ 
toms.  The  dynamic  factors  as  brought  to  light  by 
the  psychoanalyst  must  now  be  described  and  the 
contribution  of  each  to  the  total  result  estimated. 

Distracting  memories. — Freud  contends  that  hys¬ 
terical  persons  suffer  from  reminiscences,  that  there 
is  in  all  cases  of  hysteria  an  abnormal  clinging  to 
the  past.  In  London,  he  reminds  us,  there  are 
memorials  and  monuments  to  past  scenes  and 
occurrences.  Charing  Cross,  a  richly  decorated 
Gothic  pillar,  stands  before  one  of  the  greatest 
railway  stations  of  the  city.  In  the  thirteenth 
century  one  of  the  old  Plantagenet  kings  erected  a 
Gothic  cross  wherever  the  casket  of  his  beloved 
queen,  borne  to  Westminster,  was  set  down.  Char¬ 
ing  Cross  marks  the  last  of  these  resting  places. 
In  another  part  of  the  city  there  is  a  high  pillar 
called  the  Monument,  erected  in  memory  of  a  great 
lire  which  broke  out  in  the  vicinity  in  1666  and 
destroyed  a  large  part  of  London.  The  Londoner 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


185 


who  should  to-day  stand  in  tears  before  Charing 
Cross  or  bemoan  the  burning  of  the  city  as  he 
pauses  before  the  Monument,  instead  of  rejoicing 
over  the  queen  of  his  own  heart  or  over  modern 
London,  more  splendid  now  than  ever  before,  would 
be  like  the  hysterical  patient  who  is  distracted  by 
memory  symbols  out  of  harmony  with  his  own 
standards.  The  person  who  spends  his  years  weep¬ 
ing  over  unforgiven  and  unforgotten  sins  is  spiritually 
defective. 

The  patient  may  be  certain  that  there  are  no 
inconsistent  elements  in  his  personality,  but  within 
the  subconscious  they  may  become  distressingly 
active.  Dr.  Freud  illustrates  the  process  of  repres¬ 
sion  by  comparing  the  offending  idea  with  an  ill- 
bred  individual  who  is  creating  a  disturbance  in  an 
audience  listening  to  a  lecture.  The  lecturer, 
plainly  vexed,  explains  that  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  proceed  under  these  unfavorable  conditions, 
whereupon  several  strong  men  in  the  audience  lay 
hands  upon  the  ruffian  and  eject  him  from  the  hall. 
He  is  now  “repressed”  and  the  lecture  continues. 
In  order  that  the  ill-behaved  person  may  not  force 
his  way  back  into  the  room  several  auditors  estab¬ 
lish  themselves  before  the  door  to  offer  any  necessary 
resistance.  The  auditorium  represents  clear  con¬ 
sciousness,  the  outside  the  subconscious.  The 
incompatible  impulse  is  always  trying  to  break 
down  the  resistance  offered  by  the  ideals,  but  with¬ 
out  success,  and  with  the  result  that  life  is  distracted. 

Childhood  trends. — Freud  traces  the  disrupting 
factor  to  infantile  experiences,  regarding  child  life 
as  the  permanent  basis  for  all  subsequent  develop¬ 
ment.  Interests  and  impulses,  likes  and  dislikes, 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


1 86 

of  later  acquirement  are  found  on  close  inspection 
to  be  but  the  outgrowth  of  childhood  tendencies. 
In  a  very  vital  sense  the  child  is  the  father  of  the 
adult.  The  relation  of  child  life  to  adult  expe¬ 
rience  is,  then,  one  of  absolute  unity  and  consistent 
continuity.  We  react  as  we  do  to  external  circum¬ 
stances  because  of  subconscious  trends  which  have 
their  genesis  in  early  childhood.  Before  the  end 
of  that  period  of  life,  the  chief  personal  charac¬ 
teristics — mental,  moral,  social,  esthetic,  religious — 
are  determined.  Nothing  is  evolved  by  the  adult 
which  was  not  previously  involved  in  the  child. 
Our  inability  to  trace  the  connection  between  child¬ 
hood  experience  and  adult  reaction  is  no  valid 
argument  to  the  contrary. 

This  appears  to  be  in  harmony  with  what  we 
have  already  seen  to  be  true  of  the  intimate  relation 
of  early  religious  impulses  to  conversion.  The 
religious  impressions  which  the  child  assimilates 
may  later  be  developed  by  choice.  When  no  reli¬ 
gious  forces  impinge  upon  the  child,  there  can  be 
but  small  hope  for  anything  but  an  irreligious 
adult  life.  About  fifty  years  before  the  facts  of 
the  religious  consciousness  were  interpreted  in 
psychological  terms,  Horace  Bushnell  wrote  that 
multitudes  of  Christian  conversions  are  the  restored 
activity  and  more  developed  results  of  some  pre- 
dispositional  states,  or  sanctified  properties,  in  the 
subtle  tempers  and  affinities  of  childhood.6  What 
man  has  lost  consciousness  of  still  retains  influence 
over  him,  and  imperceptibly  gives  guidance  and 
direction  to  his  adult  activities. 

Sex  influence. — Again,  Freud  asserts  that  the 


6  Bushnell,  Horace:  Christian  Nurture,  p.  247.  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


187 


neurotic  symptoms  are  traceable  to  the  sex  life. 
The  importance  he  attaches  to  the  sex  life  of  the 
child  has  aroused  strong  opposition.  Much  of  the 
unpopularity  of  this  position  has  its  root  in  a  mis¬ 
understanding  of  Freud’s  terminology.  Evidently, 
the  sex  life  is  to  him  much  more  comprehensive 
than  it  is  to  most  of  us.  We  use  the  term  “sexual” 
in  a  far  more  restricted  sense.  In  justice  to  him, 
it  should  be  remarked  that  he  interprets  this  con¬ 
ception  very  liberally  and  generously.  To  him  it 
is  synonymous  with  love  and  all  its  eradiations, 
such  as  parental  regard,  and  shame  and  disgust, 
with  the  life-force  or  vital  impulse  mentioned  by 
some  writers.  Furthermore,  he  finds,  as  do  others, 
that  the  sex  life  of  the  child  is  far  more  complex 
and  comprehensive  than  is  generally  supposed. 
The  thumb-sucking,  nail-picking,  the  gentle  feeling 
of  regard  for  a  child  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  curi¬ 
osity  with  reference  to  the  reproduction  of  human 
life,  the  preference  of  the  little  son  for  the  mother 
and  of  the  daughter  for  the  father  are  all  by  him 
called  sexual.  According  to  Freud  the  cause  of 
hysteria,  as  disclosed  by  psychoanalysis,  is  always 
of  a  “sexual”  nature  and  at  variance  with  the  moral 
requirements  of  the  patient.7 

As  an  example  Freud  cites  the  following  case: 

7  Jung,  who  heads  the  Zurich  school  in  opposition  to  the  Vienna  school  under 
the  leadership  of  Freud,  in  his  theory  of  psychoanalysis  includes  the  sex  basis  of 
Freud  but  transcends  it,  postulating  a  primal  urge  in  man  comparable  to  the 
energy  of  physics.  Jung  regards  the  various  manifestations  of  sex  as  important 
but  not  as  the  exclusive  channels  through  which  the  energy  of  life  is  discharged. 
He  sees  in  childhood  expressions  the  forerunners  of  later  developed  sexuality, 
and  not  perversions  of  sexuality,  as  does  Freud.  In  such  an  instance  as  the  little 
son’s  preference  for  his  mother  Jung  sees  nothing  sexual  but  a  distorted  and  sym¬ 
bolical  and  subjective  image  created  by  the  imagination.  Unlike  Freud,  Jung  does 
not  discover  the  root  of  a  pathological  disturbance  in  the  infantile  past,  in  the 
sexuality  of  the  child,  but  in  a  conflict  in  the  present,  in  an  immediate  and  mo¬ 
mentarily  existing  obstacle  in  the  path  of  duty  to  be  overcome.  Consult  Jung’s 
Psychology  of  the  Unconscious,  translated  by  Beatrice  M.  Hinkle.  Moffat,  Yard 
&  Co. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


i&8 

“It  is  that  of  a  young  girl,^who  was  deeply  attached 
to  her  father,  who  died  a  short  time  before,  and  in 
whose  care  she  had  shared.  .  .  .  When  her  older 
sister  married,  the  girl  grew  to  feel  a  peculiar  sym¬ 
pathy  for  her  new  brother-in-law,  which  easily 
passed  with  her  for  family  tenderness.  The  sister 
soon  fell  ill  and  died,  while  the  patient  and  her 
mother  were  away.  The  absent  ones  were  hastily 
recalled,  without  being  told  fully  of  the  painful 
situation.  As  the  girl  stood  by  the  bedside  of  her 
dead  sister,  for  one  short  moment  there  surged  up 
in  her  mind  an  idea,  which  might  be  framed  in 
these  words:  ‘Now  he  is  free  to  marry  me.’  We 
may  be  sure  that  this  idea,  which  betrayed  to  her 
consciousness  her  intense  love  for  her  brother-in- 
law,  of  which  she  had  not  been  conscious,  was  the 
next  moment  consigned  to  repression  by  her  revolted 
feelings.  The  girl  fell  ill  with  severe  hysterical 
symptoms,  and,  when  I  came  to  treat  the  case,  it 
appeared  that  she  had  entirely  forgotten  that  scene 
at  her  sister’s  bedside  and  the  unnatural  egoistic 
desire  which  had  arisen  in  her.  She  remembered 
it  during  the  treatment,  reproduced  the  pathogenic 
moment  with  every  sign  of  intense  emotional  excite¬ 
ment,  and  was  cured  by  this  treatment.”8 

THE  METHOD  OF  PSYCHOANALYSIS 

Discovering  the  complex. — How  can  the  complex 
which  is  the  root  of  the  malady  be  detected?  When 
it  is  brought  to  light  what  shall  be  done  to  relieve 
the  sufferer?  It  is  not  sufficient  to  know  that  the 
nervous  and  painful  memory  is  associated  with  child¬ 
hood  and  sexuality.  The  specific  situation  which 


8  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  vol.  xxi,  pp.  193,  194. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


189 


is  disrupting  the  self  must  be  ferreted  out  and 
given  proper  treatment.  A  technic  for  the  dis¬ 
covery  and  disposition  of  the  complex  has  been 
devised  and  gradually  refined. 

To  converse  freely  about  the  root  of  the  dis¬ 
turbance,  to  give  expression  to  the  original  emo¬ 
tional  excitement,  to  reinstate  and  to  live  over, 
as  it  were,  the  details  of  a  distressing  scene,  brings 
relief  from  hysteria.  The  physician  who  applies 
the  principles  of  psychoanalysis  encourages  the 
patient  to  divulge  whatever  is  lurking  in  the  mind, 
be  it  ever  so  trivial  or  embarrassing.  A  seemingly 
irrelevant  statement  or  phrase  may  betray  the 
wish  or  idea  which  the  patient  has  only  partially 
repressed.  A  sensitivity  to  certain  topics  of  con¬ 
versation,  little  tricks  of  behavior,  slips  of  the 
tongue,  may  reveal  the  repressed  complex.  The 
aim  of  this  treatment  is  to  discover  to  the  patient 
the  mental  process  underlying  the  hysterical  symp¬ 
toms  that  he  may  squarely  face  the  issue  and  dis¬ 
pose  of  it  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience. 

Dr.  Freud’s  theory  has  led  to  dream  analysis  as 
a  method  of  diagnosing  certain  mental  derange¬ 
ments.  Since  they  are  frequently  the  motifs  of  dreams, 
the  offending  ideas  are  often  discoverable  by  the 
physician  who  gains  a  knowledge  of  the  dreams  of 
the  patient.  A  young  business  man  came  to  Dr. 
A.  A.  Brill,  of  New  York,  to  be  cured  of  an  obses¬ 
sion  in  the  form  of  an  abnormal  interest  in  social¬ 
ism.  “There  isn’t  half  an  hour  in  the  day  when  I 
am  not  thinking  about  the  accursed  thing,”  he 
said.  “I  wake  up  mornings  asking  myself  the 
question,  ‘Isn’t  socialism  a  correct  theory?’  Then  I 
am  compelled  to  get  hold  of  all  the  books  and 


190 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


pamphlets  I  can  find,  and  read  what  is  said  for 
and  against  it.”  The  fixed  idea  persisted  despite 
the  fact  that  the  patient  was,  if  anything,  opposed 
to  socialism.  The  physician  adopted  the  method 
of  dream  analysis  to  lay  bare  the  cause  of  the  dis¬ 
order.  One  day  Dr.  Brill  and  the  patient  were 
discussing  a  dream  of  the  latter,  which  involved 
an  affair  at  which  Bernard  Shaw  and  a  man  with 
a  peculiar  wig  were  guests.  The  dreamer  recalled 
that  on  the  previous  day  he  had  read  a  book  to 
which  the  famous  author  of  his  dreams  had  written 
an  introduction.  The  patient  told  the  physician 
that  the  wig  of  the  other  guest  reminded  him  of 
the  hair  of  his  wife.  Urged  to  continue  the  unbur¬ 
dening  of  his  mind,  the  patient  confessed  that  he 
had  been  jealous  of  his  wife.  Sensing  a  clue,  Dr. 
Brill  asked  him  to  define  socialism.  “Socialism 
means  collective  ownership,”  was  the  reply.  The 
truth  had  suddenly  been  brought  to  light.  The 
malady  was  due  to  subconscious  jealousy.  Although 
the  patient  had  tried  to  banish  all  doubt  and  jeal¬ 
ousy,  the  half-controlled  fear  that  there  might  be 
a  “collective  ownership”  of  his  wife’s  affections 
haunted  him  subconsciously  and  expressed  itself  in 
the  abnormal  interest  in  socialism  and  wove  itself 
into  the  fabric  of  his  dreams.  In  possession  of  this 
knowledge  the  physician  soon  freed  the  patient 
of  his  obsession.9 

If  the  desired  information  is  not  given  in  the 
normal  state,  the  physician  may  resort  to  hyp¬ 
notism.  It  is  well  known  that  the  power  of  recol¬ 
lection  may  be  intensified  through  hypnotism  so 
that  what  one  is  unable  to  recall  in  the  normal 


8  Brill,  A.  A.:  Psychoanalysis,  p.  i04ff.  W.  B.  Saunders. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


191 

state  may  be  recovered  in  the  trance.  Sometimes 
the  physician  employs  what  is  known  as  the  “word- 
association”  method.  An  instrument  is  used  by 
means  of  which  he  measures  in  hundredths  of  a 
second  the  time  of  the  response  of  the  patient  to 
certain  words.  In  addition  to  the  time  element 
the  nature  of  the  response  itself  is  significant.  By 
this  method,  words  related  to  the  source  of  hysteria 
are  discovered.  The  patient  is  then  pressed  to 
confess  all  ideas  and  experiences  associated  with 
the  significant  words. 

Disposing  of  the  complex. — It  is  the  contention  of 
Freud  that  an  impulse  freed  from  repression  can 
in  no  wise  prove  subversive  to  the  moral  life.  In 
fact,  when  a  disturbing  impulse  or  memory  is  sub¬ 
conscious,  and  therefore  not  amenable  to  control, 
it  exerts  a  far  more  pernicious  influence  than  when 
it  is  conscious.  When  the  subconscious  disturbance 
is  released  with  an  intense  emotional  accompani¬ 
ment,  its  power  may  be  consumed  at  once  in  the 
fires  of  an  outraged  conscience.  In  other  cases  it 
may  be  neither  wholly  condemned  nor  entirely 
sanctioned,  but  refined  and  regulated  and  expressed 
in  a  higher  form  of  discharge.  In  still  other  cases 
the  freed  impulse  may  not  clash  with  the  moral 
sentiments,  and  its  legitimacy  may  therefore  be 
frankly  conceded.  The  confession  of  the  young 
girl  cured  by  Dr.  Freud  purged  the  self  of  the  mor¬ 
bid  complex  at  once.  It  is  conceivable  that  she 
might  have  been  led  to  express  her  love  for  her 
brother-in-law  in  the  kindly  deeds  of  social  service. 
Doubtless,  there  are  many  cases  which  reveal  to 
the  self  perfectly  proper  objects  of  affection  or 
courses  of  action. 


192 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


PRAYER  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  PSYCHOANALYSIS 

While  all  prayer  is  in  a  sense  a  religious  urge 
which  it  would  be  unwise  to  suppress,  psychoanalysis 
as  a  means  of  relief  is  much  more  pronounced  in 
some  forms  of  prayer  than  in  others.  Haunted  by 
a  sense  of  guilt  and  regret,  the  person  may  seek 
and  find  relief  in  the  prayer  of  confession.  Con¬ 
vinced  that  God  will  lend  a  sympathetic  ear,  he 
freely  pours  forth  what  he  would  withhold  from 
his  most  intimate  human  friend.  The  confession  is 
followed  by  a  sense  of  exaltation  and  unity  with 
his  Maker.  Likewise,  the  one  who  obeys  the  im¬ 
pulse  to  thank,  adore,  or  worship  God  experiences 
a-sense  of  relief  and  harmony  with  his  deepest  con¬ 
ception  of  Reality.  Evidently,  these  prayers  -con¬ 
stitute  a  form  of  self-expression  with  gratifying 
results. 

The  prayer  of  confession. — It  may  be  well  to 

quote  one  or  two  prayers  of  confession  and  to  point 
out  the  estimation  in  which  they  are  held  by  the 
religious  consciousness  before  we  proceed  to  a 
psychological  description.  The  benefits  of  this 
type  of  prayer  are  set  forth  with  characteristic 
vividness  by  Brother  Lawrence  in  the  following 
passage:  “I  consider  myself  as  the  most  wretched 
of  men,  full  of  sores  and  corruption,  and  who  has 
committed  all  sorts  of  crimes  against  the  King. 
Touched  with  a  sensible  regret,  I  confess  to  him 
all  my  wickedness.  I  ask  his  forgiveness,  I  abandon 
myself  in  his  hands  that  he  may  do  what  he  pleases 
with  me.  The  King,  full  of  mercy  and  goodness, 
very  far  from  chastising  me,  embraces  me  with 
love,  makes  me  eat  at  his  table,  serves  me  with  his 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


193 


own  hands,  gives  me  the  key  of  his  treasures;  he 
converses  and  delights  himself  with  me  incessantly, 
in  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  ways,  and  treats  me 
in  all  respects  as  his  favorite.”10 

Pulpit  prayer,  as  a  rule,  gives  some  utterance  to 
the  shortcomings  of  humanity,  and  the  desire  for 
pardon  and  deliverance  from  all  evil.  Typical  is 
the  following  extract  from  a  prayer  of  confession 
made  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  his  pulpit:  “O 
look  with  compassion  upon  our  poor  and  despoiled 
estate.  We  admit  our  sin.  We  admit  that  in  many 
things  we  offend  entirely;  that  we  transgress  against 
our  experience  even;  against  all  knowledge;  yea, 
against  all  purpose.  We  admit  our  transgression, 
and  our  sin  is  ever  before  us;  but,  Lord,  beside  that 
what  infirmities  come  upon  us  often  as  the  very 
sea  comes!  How  are  we  thrown  into  despondency! 
The  things  that  we  would  we  do  not;  and  the  things 
that  we  would  not  we  do.  Lord,  have  compassion 
upon  us.  Thou  art  a  High  Priest,  and  thou  art 
ordained  as  a  High  Priest,  because  thou  canst  have 
compassion  upon  the  ignorant,  and  upon  those 
that  are  out  of  the  way.  Have  compassion  upon 
us,  not  to  permit  us  to  go  on  in  things  known  to 
be  wrong  with  impunity.”* 11 

The  divided  self. — An  unconfessed  and  unforgiven 
moral  lapse,  secret  temptation,  haunting  question¬ 
able  desires,  create  a  breach  in  the  religious  life 
which  only  confession  can  heal.  The  mental  an¬ 
guish  which  is  endured  has  its  source  in  a  disruptive 
mental  state,  in  reminiscences  which  infect  the  mind. 

10  Brother  Lawrence:  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God,  p.  25.  American 
Baptist  Publishing  Society. 

11  Cited  in  Handford,  T.  W.:  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  p.  260.  Belford,  Clark 
&  Co. 


194 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


It  has  its  roots  in  a  mental  unrest;  partially  repressed 
material  is  seeking  the  conscious  recognition  which 
is  denied  it.  The  haunting  element  is  contrary 
to  the  moral, standard  of  the  sufferer;  hence,  the 
personality  is  threatened  with  a  split,  a  rupture. 
To  persist  in  repulsing  the  disturbing  factor  is 
only  to  increase  its  power  to  distract  and  divide 
the  self.  Doubtless,  the  symptoms  of  many  cases 
of  hysteria  and  kindred  mental  disorders  have  their 
genesis  in  experiences  connected  with  the  religious 
life.  The  unconfessed  element  may  manifest  itself 
in  distorted  forms  which  to  the  superficial  observer 
seem  to  be  at  the  farthest  remove  from  the  person’s 
religious  sentiments. 

The  reinstatement  of  the  distraction. — Convinced 
that  God  is  all  compassion,  the  person  may  finally 
unburden  himself  in  the  prayer  of  confession,  with¬ 
holding  nothing  that  oppresses  him.  One  confes¬ 
sion  opens  the  way  for  another  until  the  distraction 
has  been  divulged.  The  confession  experience 
may  be  accompanied  by  violent,  but  appropriate, 
emotional  states.  The  person  may  rehearse  vividly 
and  with  intense  excitement  the  details  of  the 
experience  that  has  become  the  point  of  tension 
within  him.  With  all  their  original  intensity  and 
reality  the  disquieting  scenes  may  be  reenacted. 

Disposition  of  the  religious  complex. — When  the 
prayer  of  confession  makes  the  discordant  note 
conscious,  conscience  sits  in  judgment  upon  the 
offender,  condemning,  exonerating,  or  recommend¬ 
ing  a  process  of  refinement  and  discipline.  The 
impulse  which  is  allowed  to  represent  itself  above 
the  threshold  of  consciousness  may  stand  con¬ 
victed  before  the  tribunal  of  conscience  and  be 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


195 


sentenced  to  die,  or  be  declared  altogether  innocent 
and  be  permitted  to  run  at  large,  or  be  neither 
wholly  acquitted  nor  condemned,  but  restrained 
and  modified  for  higher  purposes.  If  the  fault  con¬ 
fessed  is  not  deeply  embedded,  has  not  become 
habitual,  and  the  moral  constitution  is  vigorous 
enough,  it  may  perish  at  once  in  the  intense  feeling 
of  moral  repugnance  which  it  arouses.  In  many 
instances  the  petitional  prayer  is  relied  upon  to 
eradicate  the  tendencies  which  the  confession  has 
revealed.  By  the  same  means  lower  trends  are 
disciplined  and  transmuted  into  higher  forms  of 
self-expression.  Thus  devotional  prayer  may  be 
the  springs  of  petition.  When  the  confessed  expe¬ 
rience  is  a  mere  memory  and  is  no  longer  actually 
indulged  in,  the  mental  reinstatement  coupled  with 
intense  emotional  excitement  is  of  itself  sufficient 
to  purge  the  self  and  restore  its  equilibrium. 

Confession  is  good  for  the  soul,  because  it  grants 
conscious  recognition  to  elements  that  distress 
the  religious  self.  The  impulse  released  is  disposed 
of  according  to  the  sense  of  fitness  which  charac¬ 
terizes  the  religious  sentiment.  Conscience  censors 
conduct,  and  unless  it  is  drugged  into  insensibility 
clamors  when  its  demands  are  not  satisfied.  The 
person  may  have  no  conscious  knowledge  of  any 
irregular  proceedings  in  his  life,  but  conscience 
may  have  given  them  subconscious  registration  and 
they  may  obtrude  themselves  as  distractions.  As 
already  stated,  in  some  cases  the  confession  itself 
rids  the  personality  of  the  baneful  influence;  in 
others,  petitional  forms  of  the  prayer  relation  must 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  clashing  impulse  to 
complete  the  work  of  elimination  or  transformation. 


196  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Religious  confession  safeguards  life;  it  is  a  pre¬ 
ventive  as  well  as  a  remedial  measure.  If  made  as 
soon  as  impulses  contrary  to  the  ideals  are  seriously 
entertained,  or  unhappy  experiences  occur,  it  keeps 
life  from  becoming  morbid  and  diseased  and  pre¬ 
vents  hysterical  complications.  By  draining  off 
elements  incompatible  with  the  moral  standards, 
confession  keeps  the  self  unified  and  wholesome. 

The  consciousness  of  divine  forgiveness. — The  proc¬ 
ess  of  psychoanalysis  in  confession  has  been  most 
wonderfully  described  by  the  ancient  psalmist 
who  wrote:  “When  I  kept  silence,  my  bones  waxed 
old  through  my  roaring  all  the  day  long.  For  day 
and  night  thy  hand  was  heavy  upon  me:  my  moisture 
is  turned  into  the  drought  of  summer.  I  acknowl¬ 
edged  my  sin  unto  thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have 
I  not  hid.  I  said,  I  will  confess  my  transgressions 
unto  the  Lord;  and  thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of 
my  sin.”12  Confession  of  sin  is  normally  followed 
by  the  consciousness  of  forgiveness  by  and  union 
with  God.  Unless  the  wrong  is  admitted  and  con¬ 
fessed  there  can  be  no  forgiveness  and  no  moral 
cleansing.  As  long  as  the  person  clings  to  evil  and 
refuses  to  repudiate  his  dark  ways,  he  is  both  self- 
condemned  and  alienated  from  God.  Only  admis¬ 
sion  of  personal  guilt  and  amendment  can  restore 
the  severed  relation  between  the  self  and  its  God. 

The  prayer  of  praise. — The  psychology  of  the 
prayer  of  praise  is  closely  akin  to  that  of  confession. 
Let  a  writer  of  devotional  literature  describe  this 
type  of  prayer:  “We  may  think  of  praise  in  three 

parts — Adoration,  Thanksgiving,  Worship.  Thus, 

\ 


12  Psalm  32:  3-5. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


197 


we  adore  God  for  what  he  is;  we  thank  him  for 
what  he  does;  we  worship  him  as  our  Overlord.”13 
As  a  rule  the  three  parts  of  praise  are  closely  con¬ 
nected  in  prayer;  like  three-colored  threads  in  a 
pattern  they  weave  themselves  into  the  texture  of 
the  devotional  life.  Petition,  confession,  thanks¬ 
giving,  adoration,  and  worship  intermingle. 

Worship  and  adoration . — In  the  following  quota¬ 
tion  from  a  public  prayer  from  the  lips  of  the  gifted 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  adoration  and  worship  are 
fused:  “With  those  that  rejoice  round  about  thee, 
O  dearly  beloved  of  men  and  angels,  our  Father, 
we  this  morning  rejoice  likewise,  according  to  the 
measure  of  our  light,  and  according  to  the  measure 
in  which  thou  hast  wrought  in  us  to  will  and  to  do 
of  thy  good  pleasure.  In  thy  joyfulness,  which  is 
as  the  light  going  over  all  the  heaven  and  through¬ 
out  creation,  everything  has  light  and  joy.  What 
thou  art,  that  thou  canst  bring  joy  out  of  sorrow,  we 
cannot  conceive.  Thou  that  dost  sanctify  suffering 
in  thyself,  and  bear  the  burden  of  the  universe,  and 
yet  art  most  blest  and  joyful  of  all — how  shall  we 
rise  to  the  conception  of  such  an  One?  Thy  virtues 
take  thee  away  out  of  the  reach  of  our  thought; 
for  we  are  selfish;  we  are  low-minded  and  earthly; 
we  grope  among  things,  and  can  scarcely  rise  to  the 
higher  range  even  of  our  own  souls;  but  thou  art 
a  spirit,  unconfined,  universal,  rejoicing  in  what 
men  detest;  we  seeking  to  rid  ourselves  of  burdens, 
and  thou  multiplying  them  perpetually;  we  occu¬ 
pied  with  the  things  that  concern  ourselves,  and 
thou  with  the  things  that  concern  all  other  creatures 


11  Holmes,  E.  E.:  Prayer  and  Action,  p.  84.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 


I9S  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


but  thyself;  we  perpetually  asking  to  be  served, 
and  thou  eternally  serving.”14 

The  contemplation  of  the  attributes  of  God,  his 
power  and  majesty,  induces  in  us  a  desire  to  adore 
and  worship  him.  Awe  and  reverence  arouse  the 
attitude  of  worship  and  are  themselves  intensified 
>/  by  the  devotional  mood.  Worship  is  the  response 
of  the  self  to  the  consciousness  of  the  presence  of 
v  God.  Prayer  is  the  natural  outlet  for  the  con¬ 
sciousness  of  the  sovereignty  and  glory  of  God. 
The  public  worship  of  God  should  create  an  atmos¬ 
phere  in  which  it  is  easy  to  pray.  The  architectural 
appeal,  the  subtle  influence  of  music,  the  suggestive 
ritual  all  tend  to  reduce  the  minds  of  the  congre¬ 
gation  to  the  mood  of  worship  and  its  expression  in 
\/  devotional  prayer.  Denied  its  normal  mode  of 
discharge,  the  urge  to  worship  and  adore  God  ejects 
at  least  a  temporary  internal  dislocation. 

Thanksgiving. — The  prayer  of  thanksgiving  is  the 
expression  of  a  grateful  heart.  It  is  a  favorite 
form  of  devotion.  Saint  Paul  says,  “With  thanks¬ 
giving  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God.”15 
In  Minna  von  Barnhelm ,  Lessing  says,  “A  single 
grateful  thought  toward  heaven  is  the  most  per¬ 
fect  prayer.”  “The  mighty  men  of  prayer  in  the 
Bible,  and  the  mighty  men  of  prayer  throughout 
the  ages  of  the  church’s  history  have  been  men 
who  were  much  given  to  thanksgiving  and  praise. 
David  was  a  mighty  man  of  prayer,  and  how  his 
Psalms  abound  with  thanksgiving  and  praise.  The 
apostles  were  mighty  men  of  prayer;  of  them  we 
read  that  They  were  continually  in  the  temple, 


14  Handford,  T.  W.:  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  p.  264.  Belford,  Clark  &  Co. 

15  Philippians  4:  6. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


199 


praising  and  blessing  God.’  Paul  was  a  mighty 
man  of  prayer,  and  how  often  in  his  epistles  he 
bursts  out  in  definite  thanksgiving  to  God  for 
definite  blessings  and  definite  answers  to  prayers. 
Jesus  is  our  model  in  prayer  as  in  everything  else. 
We  find  in  the  study  of  his  life  that  his  manner  of 
returning  thanks  at  the  simplest  meal  was  so  notice¬ 
able  that  two  of  his  disciples  recognized  him  by 
this  after  his  resurrection.”16 

The  following  is  a  spontaneous  outburst  of  grat¬ 
itude  in  prayer  form:  “ Gracious  Lord,  I  thank  thee 
for  all  softening  influences  in  our  land.  I  thank 
thee  for  the  presence  of  little  children.  I  thank 
thee  for  winsome  old  age.  I  thank  thee  for  all 
gracious  men.  I  thank  thee  for  strong  men  who 
impress  by  their  gentleness.”1'  When  thanks  are 
returned  for  blessings  enjoyed,  the  faith  state  is 
intensified  and  a  holy  boldness  and  full  assurance 
support  the  prayer  life.  When  the  person  meditates 
upon  and  acknowledges  the  benevolence  of  God, 
he  feels  encouraged  to  make  petitions  and  inter¬ 
cessions.  Prayer  springs  spontaneously  from  the 
heart  overflowing  with  gratitude  toward  the  universe. 

It  is  a  matter  of  inestimable  value  to  say  grace 
and  give  thanks  at  the  table  for  the  provided  food. 
The  constantly  recurring  acknowledgment  of  the 
bounty  of  God  tempers  the  sensuous  process  of 
eating  and  makes  it  a  sacrament.  The  omission  of 
the  expression  of  homage  and  gratitude  is  insuffer¬ 
able  to  those  with  whom  the  table  prayer  has  be¬ 
come  an  habitual  religious  propriety.  Doubtless, 
the  custom  develops  the  rare  grace  of  equanimity 

18  Torrey,  R.  A.:  How  to  Pray,  p.  76.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 

17  Jowett,  J.  H.:  Yet  Another  Day,  Twentieth  Day  of  July.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company. 


200 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


and  thankfulness.  The  crust  of  poverty  is  the 
sweeter  for  the  religious  flavor  imparted  by  grat¬ 
itude.  The  following  specimen  is  taken  from  a 
volume  of  table  prayers:  “0  Saviour,  as  we  come 
again  to  thy  table  and  the  food  thou  hast  so  lov¬ 
ingly  provided,  we  pray  for  those  less  fortunate, 
those  whom  ailment  and  misfortune  have  visited, 
and  those  in  sin.  Provide,  O  merciful  Saviour,  for 
them  as  thou  hast  provided  for  us.  Teach  us  that 
we  should  show  unto  our  fellow  men  mercy  and 
justice  and  never  let  pass  by  an  opportunity  when 
we  may  do  good  to  them  and  thus  serve  thee.”18 

Praise  and  psychoanalysis. — What  occurs  in  a 
more  advanced  and  complicated  form  in  the  prayer 
of  confession  doubtless  takes  place  in  the  prayer 
of  praise.  The  desire  to  adore,  worship  and  thank 
God  may  be  a  disquieting  influence  when  partially 
repressed.  When  the  impulse  is  discharged,  the 
equilibrium  of  the  mind  is  restored.  The  mere 
freeing  of  the  impulse  through  prayer  alone  may, 
it  should  be  added,  not  satisfy  those  whose  religion 
is  socialized.  Such  persons  have  no  peace  until 
the  prayer  of  praise  has  expressed  itself  manward. 
This  type  of  prayer  should  not  be  regarded  as  a 
mere  liberator  of  devotional  promptings.  Its  effects 
upon  a  socialized  self  from  which  it  springs  are 
significant  for  the  religious  life.  It  intensifies  the 
conviction  that  the  character  of  God  is  morally 
perfect,  that  his  works  are  wonderful,  and  that 
his  purpose  for  the  race  is  benevolent.  It  gives  life 
a  religious  purpose  and  meaning.  The  devotional 
mind  tends  to  reflect  in  conduct  the  sentiments 
released  in  the  form  of  adoration  and  worship. 


18  Nyce,  A.  W.,  and  Bunyea,  H.:  Grace  Before  Meals .  John  C.  Winston  Company. 


CONFESSION  AND  PRAISE 


201 


How  confession  and  praise  differ. — While  the 
process  of  psychoanalysis  is  discernible  in  both  the 
prayer  of  confession  and  of  praise,  there  is  a  differ¬ 
ence  between  these  forms  of  devotion  which  should 
not  escape  attention.  Confession  concerns  itself  ^ 
with  impulses  and  acts  which  are  reprehensible. 
The  prayer  of  confession  liberates  from  repression 
a  questionable  desire  or  deed  for  final  disposition  by 
conscience.  The  material  and  purpose  of  the  prayers 
of  praise  are  different.  Praise  liberates  an  impulse 
fully  sanctioned  and  approved  by  conscience.  The 
inner  movement  released  is  not  an  unholy  thing 
and  as  such  to  be  purged  out  of  the  self,  but  an 
ennobling  urge  which  can,  accomplish  its  mission 
only  when  set  free.  Afforded  expression,  praise 
turns  upon  itself  and  enriches  the  fountain  from 
which  it  flows. 

Psychoanalysis  is  a  means  to  an  end.  The  reli¬ 
gious  consciousness  employs  it  for  the  purpose  of 
achieving  a  union  of  joy  and  power  with  God. 
When  man  is  conscious  of  his  shortcomings  and 
confesses  them,  God  is  merciful  and  forgives.  Broken 
relations  between  man  and  God  are  restored,  and 
the  peace  that  passeth  understanding  floods  the 
soul.  When  the  occasion  for  praise  arouses  an 
appropriate  response,  not  only  is  alienation  from 
God  averted  but  the  consciousness  of  his  sanction 
and  worth  is  intensified.  Far  from  dethroning  God, 
the  prayer  involving  the  psychoanalytic  procedure 
enthrones  him  afresh  in  the  hearts  of  men  and  makes 
him  the  central  creative  enthusiasm.  This  method 
mediates  God  to  the  praying  soul.  It  is  one  of 
God’s  ways  of  making  dynamic  contact  with  man. 


*/ 


CHAPTER  X 


s 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS 

We  have  seen  that  the  prayers  of  confession  and 
praise  give  expression  to  unassimilated  unethical 
experiences  as  well  as  to  wholesome  promptings  of 
the  soul  life.  Questionable  impulses  are  afforded 
an  outlet  and  devotional  cravings  are  released  in 
the  form  of  the  devotional  prayer  already  considered. 
We  turn  now  to  a  group  of  devotional  prayers,  the 
psychological  trait  of  which  seems  to  be  a  reorgan¬ 
ization  of  the  self  in  terms  of  its  deepest  moral  and 
religious  insight.  This  unifying  process  has  been 
pointed  out  and  experimentally  used  by  Dr.  George 
D.  Bivin  and  by  him  called  psychosynthesis. 

PSYCHOSYNTHESIS 

Psychosynthesis  and  psychoanalysis  are  contrast¬ 
ing  processes.  Psychoanalysis  is  a  thoroughgoing 
dissection  of  a  distressing  and  repulsed  situation, 
a  separation  of  a  disquieting  whole  into  its  com¬ 
ponent  parts,  the  liberation  of  a  disturbance.  The 
emotional  escape  of  the  haunting  memory  or  dis¬ 
tasteful  desire  averts  a  split  in  the  personality. 
Peace  and  poise  are  recovered  by  ridding  the  self 
of  an  unwelcome  intrusion.  Psychosynthesis,  on 
the  other  hand,  entails  the  adoption  of  an  idea 
more  or  less  opposed  but  consistent  with  the  reli¬ 
gious  idealism  of  the  person.  It  brings  into  life  a 
fresh  element  which  creates  a  higher  unity.  By 

202 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS 


203 


it  a  new  union  of  spiritual  powers  is  attained.  It 
is  assimilative,  a  program  is  brought  from  the 
circumference  of  the  self  into  its  very  center.  It 
strikes  harmony  between  the  personality  and  duty, 
misfortune,  nr  God.  By  the  process  of  psychosyn¬ 
thesis  the  new  insight  becomes  the  central  and 
regnant  factor  of  the  self,  grouping  all  else  about 
itself  in  subordinate  relations.  Psychoanalysis  is 
expulsive,  psychosynthesis  receptive. 

Illustrations  of  the  synthetic  process. — The  human 
understanding  combines  related  data  into  a  unified 
system.  The  process  of  putting  together  parts  or 
elements  so  as  to  compose  a  complex  whole  is  clearly 
recognizable  in  various  departments  of  thought  and 
science.  The  act  of  learning  as  described  by  edu¬ 
cators  exhibits  the  synthetic  tendency  of  the  mind. 
When  new  lesson  material  is  presented  to  the  pupil, 
it  is  comprehended  and  assimilated  in  terms  of 
previous  knowledge  and  experience.  The  present 
is  synthetized  with  the  past  and  thus  acquires 
meaning  and  value;  the  union  of  the  new  and  old 
constitutes  a  fresh  whole.  At  first  the  new  is  under¬ 
stood  by  the  young  child  as  something  which  he 
already  knows  about,  but  later  he  assigns  it  an 
existence  and  a  meaning  of  its  own.  One  small 
boy  called  snow,  sugar;  an  electric  meter,  a  clock; 
a  circus  rider  in  uniform,  a  king;  the  core  of  a  pear, 
a  crust;  dust  particles  seen  in  a  ray  of  light,  flies; 
but  in  the  course  of  time  and  with  the  expansion 
of  life  he  began  properly  to  classify  and  rate  these 
novelties.  The  mind  appears  to  resist  the  intrusion 
of  fresh  ideas,  for  the  reception  of  the  new  makes 
a  rearrangement  of  the  old  furnishings  imperative. 

In  the  natural  sciences  synthesis  denotes  the 


204 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


formation  of  a  compound  by  a  combination  of  its 
elements.  Physics  makes  liberal  use  of  the  term 
and  variously  applies  its  principle.  White  is  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  physicist  by  synthetizing  its  con¬ 
stituent  colors.  Physics  teaches  that  a  complex 
musical  sound  is  a  compound  of  component  simple 
tones.  The  violin  string,  for  example,  has  a  fine 
proportion  of  partial  tones,  the  lowest  audible  of 
which  is  called  the  fundamental  tone,  and  the 
others  overtones.  The  whole  may  be  analyzed  into 
the  partial  tones  which  the  mind  may  be  able  to 
abstract.  It  is,  however,  the  habitual  readiness  of 
the  mind  to  grasp  and  appreciate  the  sound  as  a 
whole.  The  mind  synthetizes  the  partial  tones. 
The  full  compound  tone,  heard  as  a  unit,  affords 
us  more  aesthetic  gratification  than  does  a  separa¬ 
tion  of  it  into  its  constituents. 

The  synthetic  activity  in  religion. — In  an  anal¬ 
ogous  manner  the  religious  consciousness  makes  a 
continuous  effort  to  keep  life  harmonious  through 
the  adoption  and  practice  of  recognized  obligations. 
The  spiritual  sensibilities  demand  that  the  self 
be  dominated  by  a  progressive  comprehension  of 
things  which  matter  most.  When  the  self  falls 
short  of  what  it  feels  it  should  be,  conscience  creates 
a  disturbance  which  endures  until  the  level  of  con¬ 
duct  has  been  raised.  The  spiritual  nature  of  man 
manifests  a  pronounced  synthetic  activity  by  which 
a  new  combination  of  moral  forces  is  achieved. 
At  first  the  imposing  religious  obligation  is  resisted 
and  repulsed  but  finally  it  is  accepted  and  placed 
in  control  of  the  self.  Once  in  the  seat  of  power 
the  fresh  insight  brings  into  harmony  with  itself 
all  other  interests.  The  tension  between  a  duty 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  205 


and  the  self,  for  instance,  is  not  eliminated  by 
renouncing  the  duty  but  by  accepting  its  challenge 
and  by  adjusting  all  other  things  to  the  discharge 
of  it.  Although  once  an  external  pressure,  duty, 
when  owned,  becomes  an  internal  compulsion.  A 
situation,  once  contested  but  at  last  made  central 
and  supreme,  reorganizes  the  self,  synthetizes  the 
elements  of  life.  The  psychosynthetic  prayer  grips  v 
and  divides  the  self,  purges  and  sifts  its  elements, 
and  in  accordance  with  a  new  sense  of  obligation 
recombines  them. 


PSYCHOSYNTHETIC  PRAYERS 


Miss  Strong  in  her  book,  The  Psychology  of 
Prayer ,  would  interpret  all  prayer  forms,  petitional 
as  well  as  devotional,  as  a  social  relation  between 
a  consciously  inferior  self  and  an  ideal,  superior 
self,  having  for  their  purpose  the  construction  of 
a  more  victorious,  a  more  competent,  a  more  endur¬ 
ing  personality.  This  conception  appears  to  be  akin 
to  that  of  psychosynthesis.  Interpreted  broadly  and 
liberally,  this  unifying  activity  underlies  every  type 
of  prayer  relation.  In  all  prayer,  petitional  as  well 
as  devotional,  there  is  a  subtle  analytic  and  syn¬ 
thetic  process  by  means  of  which  the  person  hopes 
to  ease  inner  tension,  release  spiritual  unrest,  and 
construct  a  more  victorious  self. 

This  generous  interpretation  seems  to  touch  the 
ends  rather  than  the  processes  of  petitional  and  of 
some  devotional  prayers.  It  seems  best  to  describe 
prayer  in  terms  of  the  process  itself  which  furthers 
an  adjustment  to  the  spiritual  universe.  Since 
petitional  prayer  tends  to  realize  an  ideal  self  through 
religious  suggestion,  it  seems  well  to  regard  the 


206  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


process  of  suggestion  as  the  chief  psychological 
aspect.  Since  the  prayers  of  confession  and  praise 
save  the  self  from  a  rupture  by  discharging  impulses 
to  praise  or  by  reinstating  distressing  experiences, 
it  would  appear  best  to  interpret  them  psycho¬ 
logically  as  forms  of  a  religious  katharsis.  The  type 
of  devotional  prayer  to  the  psychological  exposition 
of  which  this  chapter  is  devoted,  doubtless  reveals 
to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  a  fusion  of  life 
in  terms  of  a  higher  purpose  through  the  prayerful 
attitude  itself.  The  specialized  forms  of  this  type 
are  the  prayers  of  aspiration,  consecration,  sub¬ 
mission,  and  communion. 

The  prayer  of  aspiration. — Many  persons  live  in 
an  atmosphere  of  sacred  desire  and  holy  ambition. 
In  devotional  mood  they  constantly  ejaculate  their 
aspirations  to  be  righteous,  benevolent,  and  in  har¬ 
mony  with  the  purpose  of  God.  This  prayer  atti¬ 
tude  tends  to  fix  the  program  of  purpose  and  action, 
to  steady  the  vagrant  impulses,  to  summon  the 
spiritual  powers.  It  gives  life  a  constant  impetus 
and  momentum  toward  unity  and  self-consistency. 
Through  constant  and  meaningful  repetition  of 
sacred  ambition  one  keeps  before  the  self  the  vision 
of  the  ideal. 

J  Unitary  effort. — Many  confess  that  to  them 
prayer  consists  in  a  summoning  of  scattering  moral 
forces  into  a  synthesis  of  personal  powers  for  greater 
efficiency.  When  there  is  a  more  effective  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  moral  attributes  a  realization  of  the 
ideals  occurs  with  a  consequent  growth  of  still 
higher  ideals.  The  coalition  of  higher  activities 
and  qualities  of  mind  and  character  presents  a  solid 
front  to  the  elements  which  attack  the  moral  integ- 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS 


207 


rity  of  the  self.  One  who  is  predisposed  to  mel¬ 
ancholy  may  heroically  and  prayerfully  cultivate 
the  cheerful  outlook,  the  contagious  smile,  and  the 
creative  act;  or  one  who  is  quick-tempered  and 
hypersensitive  may  practice  long-suffering  and  meek- 
ness.  A  successful  high-school  teacher  says  that 
to  her  prayer  is  an  urgent  appeal  to  her  own  power 
of  self-control  when  there  is  occasion  for  impatience 
and  annoyance.  The  aroused  will  joins  together 
in  a  unitary  impression  ideal  and  conduct. 

Illustrations. — Biographical  literature  is  replete 
with  an  extensive  variety  of  aspirational  prayers. 
Socrates  at  the  conclusion  of  his  dialogue  with 
Phaedrus  under  the  palm  tree  prays,  “Beloved 
Pan  and  all  ye  other  gods  who  haunt  this  place, 
give  me  beauty  in  the  inward  soul;  and  may  the 
outward  and  the  inward  man  be  at  one.,,1 

Interesting  aspirational  prayers  have  been  dis¬ 
covered  among  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  in¬ 
scriptions.  Neriglissar,  king  of  Babylon  from  559 
to  556  B.  C.,  left  behind  an  oft-repeated  and  un¬ 
granted  prayer  for  a  long  reign:  “O  Marduk,  great 
lord,  lord  of  the  gods,  glorious  light  of  the  gods, 
I  pray  thee;  may  I,  according  to  thy  exalted,  un¬ 
changeable  command,  enjoy  the  glory  of  the  house 
which  I  have  built,  may  I  attain  unto  old  age  in 
it.”1 2  Nabonidus,  a  later  king  of  Babylon,  was  a 
man  of  unusuaj  piety.  His  energies  were  absorbed 
by  the  building  and  restoration  of  temples,  by 
supervising  the  work  of  scholars  engaged  in  re¬ 
searches  concerning  the  remote  past,  and  by  prayers 
and  devotion  to  the  gods.  In  the  following  prayer 


1  Phcedrus,  Jowett’s  translation,  p.  279.  Clarendon  Press. 

*  Cambridge  Cylinder,  col.  11,  lines  31-34. 


208 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


of  his,  special  blessings  are  invoked  upon  his  son: 
“From  sin  against  thy  exalted  godhead  guard  me, 
and  grant  me,  as  a  gift,  life  for  many  days,  and 
in  the  heart  of  Belshazzar,  my  first-born  son,  the 
offspring  of  my  body,  establish  reverence  for  thy 
great  godhead.  May  he  not  incline  to  sin,  but 
enjoy  the  fullness  of  life.”3 

Beautiful  for  sentiment  and  expression  are  the 
prayers  of  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Jowett,  as  published  in 
a  little  volume  entitled  Yet  Another  Day.  It  will 
suffice  to  quote  two  or  three. 

“Father,  enlarge  my  sympathies;  give  me  a 
roomier  heart.  May  my  life  be  like  a  great  hos¬ 
pitable  tree,  and  may  many  weary  wanderers  find 
in  me  a  rest!” 

“My  Father,  I  would  have  the  mind  of  Christ. 
Take  away  all  my  petty  and  self-centered  thoughts, 
and  give  me  the  large  and  sympathetic  thoughts 
of  Christ.  Give  me  a  roomy  heart  in  which  my 
brethren  may  find  hospitality.” 

“Holy  Spirit,  quicken  the  secret  springs  of  my 
life.  May  I  abound  in  spiritual  willingness!  May 
I  rise  daily  into  newness  of  life!  Take  all  reluctance 
out  of  my  discipleship.  May  thy  law  be  my  de¬ 
light!” 

The  prayer  of  consecration. — The  sensitive  per¬ 
sonality  cannot  rest  until  it  has  abandoned  itself 
to  what  it  conceives  to  be  its  life  purpose.  Many 
a  conflict  between  the  self  and  its  richer  outlook, 
its  paramount  duty,  its  acknowledged  mission,  is 
resolved  in  prayer.  A  natural  desire  to  cling  to 
the  past,  a  tendency  to  drift  with  the  current, 

3  Cited  in  Rogers,  R.  W.:  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  vol.  ii,  p.  362. 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


OTHER'  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  209 


ethical  and  religious  inertia,  all  yield  to  the  prayer 
of  consecration,  fusing  the  elements  of  the  person¬ 
ality  in  a  higher  combination.  It  closes,  as  it  were, 
the  old  channels  of  discharge  by  opening  new  ones. 
A  vision  of  what  one  should  be  or  do  arouses 
internal  dissatisfaction;  often  a  struggle  follows  in 
which  idealism  triumphs.  In  the  making  of  a  deci¬ 
sion  for  the  right,  poise  is  recovered. 

The  psychosynthetic  process  in  the  baptism  of  Jesus. — 
The  life  of  Christ  discloses  instances  of  this  type 
of  devotion.  We  may  be  sure  that  as  a  youth  he 
reacted  against  the  current  conceptions  of  religion, 
against  a  dead  orthodoxy  and  hollow  formalism. 
He  became  conscious  that  religion  is  spiritual  and 
moral,  and  not  the  perfunctory  performance  of 
ceremony  and  obedience  to  a  code  of  laws  devoid 
of  moral  content.  There  came  to  him  as  he  medi¬ 
tated  in  the  night  watches  the  overpowering  con¬ 
viction  that  it  was  his  real  mission  to  become  a 
public  teacher,  servant,  and  Saviour  of  men.  He 
doubtless  heard  of  the  message  of  John  and  felt 
himself  in  accord  with  the  substance  of  it.  We  can 
understand  why  he  approached  the  great  evangelist 
and  requested  to  be  baptized  by  him  in  token  of 
his  own  submission  to  the  principles  of  righteousness 
so  fearlessly  proclaimed. 

We  read  that  a  sacred  and  dramatic  experience 
was  his  when  he  was  being  baptized,  that  the  heavens 
were  opened  and  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  upon 
him  in  bodily  form  as  a  dove,  and  that  a  voice  pro¬ 
claimed  him  the  beloved  Son,  in  whom  the  Father 
was  well  pleased.  Luke,  who  has  flashes  of  pene¬ 
tration  into  some  of  the  most  intense  experiences  of 
Christ,  records  the  significant  fact  that  these  unique 


210 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


manifestations  came  to  him  while  he  was  praying.4 
In  baptism  Christ  unquestionably  committed  him¬ 
self  definitely  and  unreservedly  to  the  glorious  task 
of  preaching  and  teaching  the  cardinal  principles  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  In  the  act  of  prayer  he  con¬ 
solidated  his  convictions.  The  attitude  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  vivid  sense  of  the  divine  sanction  and 
a  release  of  religious  energy  for  his  mission.  In 
the  act  of  consecration  the  consciousness  of  Sonship 
was  crystallized. 

The  subordination  of  the  physical  to  the  spiritual  by 
Jesus. — The  consecration  in  the  Jordan  was  not  his 
last  and  only  self-dedication.  The  record  of  his 
experiences  the  first  Sabbath  spent  in  Capernaum 
after  his  dedication  to  the  public  ministry  is 
evidence  to  the  contrary.  In  the  morning,  in  the 
synagogue  he  healed  a  demoniac,  probably  a 
moral  degenerate.  The  healing  marked  a  crisis 
in  the  life  of  Christ,  for  it  was  doubtless  the 
first  case  of  disease  cured  by  him.  Through  this 
his  powers  as  a  healer  of  men’s  physical  defects 
were  revealed.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
he  touched  the  hand  of  Peter’s  mother-in-law,  and 
the  fever  left  her  and  she  arose  and  served  her 
Benefactor  and  his  friends.  Not  many  hours 
elapsed  before  the  news  had  spread  throughout 
the  city  that  a  wonder-worker  was  within  its  gates, 
and  at  sundown  a  vast  company  of  the  sick  ap¬ 
pealed  to  him.  Although  he  was  exhausted  by  the 
labors  of  the  day,  no  sleep  visited  him  that  night. 
A  long  time  before  daybreak  he  threaded  his  way 
through  the  crooked  streets  and  “departed  into  a 
desert  place  and  there  prayed.” 


4  Luke  3:  21. 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS 


21 1 


He  was  experiencing  the  embarrassment  of  a 
success  that  threatened  his  real  mission.  The 
occurrences  of  the  day  made  it  clear  to  him  that 
his  work  as  a  healer  might  overshadow  his  mission 
as  a  teacher.  It  was  a  matter  of  relativity,  of 
deciding  which  to  subordinate,  that  led  him  into 
the  solitary  place  to  meditate  and  pray.  Should 
he  figure  as  a  physician  to  the  body  rather  than  as 
a  physician  to  the  soul?  That  he  consecrated  him¬ 
self  anew  to  his  kingdom  mission  and  decided  to 
make  the  healing  of  the  body  subsidiary  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  he  left  the  city  at 
once,  and  returned  only  after  his  fame  as  a  healer 
had  had  time  to  abate.  He  said  to  his  disciples, 
“Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach 
there  also;  for  therefore  came  I  forth. ”5 

Jesus  and  self-consistency  through  prayer. — Yet 
another  crisis  came  into  the  life  of  Christ  which  was 
successfully  met  in  the  prayer  of  consecration.  The 
time  came  when  the  opposition  against  him  sought 
his  life.  While  in  Galilee  he  was  convinced  that  his 
life  was  in  danger  if  he  remained  there  or  journeyed 
to  Jerusalem.  The  Herodians  of  Galilee,  as  politi¬ 
cal  plotters,  considered  his  influence  over  the  masses 
inimical  to  their  own  dark  purposes.  To  remain 
longer  in  that  territory  was  to  court  death  at  the 
hands  of  unscrupulous  politicians.  The  gravity  of 
the  situation  was  augmented  by  the  fact  that  Jeru¬ 
salem  offered  no  safe  refuge.  To  leave  Galilee  and 
go  to  Jerusalem  was  to  escape  the  animosity  of  the 
Herodians  only  to  fall  into  the  eager  clutches  of  the 
Pharisees  and  priests.  One  other  course  lay  open — 


8  Mark  i:  38. 


212 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


to  leave  Palestine  altogether,  to  teach  and  spend  the 
rest  of  his  life  in  a  foreign  land. 

Christ  left  Galilee,  retiring  to  the  region  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  not  because  he  feared  the  hate-filled 
religious  leaders  or  the  agents  of  Herod  but  for  the 
purpose  of  coming  to  a  decision  as  to  the  course 
he  should  pursue.  In  a  condition  of  disturbed 
mental  equilibrium  he  wandered  to  and  fro.  Finally, 
he  ascended  a  hill  in  the  company  of  three  intimate 
disciples.  Luke,  with  characteristic  psychological 
insight,  furnishes  a  hint  which  precipitates  a  rea¬ 
sonable  interpretation  of  the  ensuing  occurrence, 
called  the  Transfiguration.  He  says,  “And  as  he 
prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was  altered, 
and  his  raiment  was  white  and  glistering.”6 

Doubtless  in  the  act  of  prayer  Christ  caught  up 
into  their  accustomed  higher  unity  the  elements 
of  his  personality.  He  consecrated  himself  anew 
to  the  only  course  consistent  with  his  life  purpose. 
Only  by  yielding  to  his  sense  of  religious  obligation 
and  privilege  could  a  fracture  of  the  self  be  avoided. 
The  decision  made,  all  tension  was  released  and  his 
face  glowed  with  inner  light  and  peace.  He  came 
out  of  the  experience  to  proceed  by  deliberate,  yet 
unwavering,  stages  to  Jerusalem,  and  there,  during 
the  Passover,  he  made  his  last  appeal  and  laid 
down  his  life  for  his  cause. 

The  prayer  of  submission. — It  is  no  small  matter 
to  become  reconciled  to  the  inevitable.  Tribulations 
and  disasters  will  come,  and  we  cannot  escape  some 
attitude  toward  them.  By  nature  we  shrink  from 
the  abyss  that  threatens  to  engulf  us;  we  do  our  ut¬ 
most  to  avoid  impending  doom.  The  cosmic  processes 


B  Luke  9:  29. 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  213 


of  pain  and  death  are  relentless  and  impartial.  Nov/, 
religion,  in  its  best  form,  teaches  a  wise  submission 
to  the  unavoidable,  a  firm  trust  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  justice,  and  an  unwavering  faith  in  the 
persistence  of  the  moral  element  of  the  world.  It 
sees  in  the  calamities  and  misfortunes  of  men  an 
overruling  Providence,  with  a  disciplinary  and  edu¬ 
cational  and,  in  some  cases,  a  redemptive  purpose 
in  view.  It  traces  the  rainbow  in  the  rain. 

The  prayers  of  resignation  as  limitless. — The  great 
prayer  of  Christ,  wrung  from  his  lips  when  he  faced 
arrest  and  ignominious  and  immediate  death,  “Thy 
will  be  done,”  has  taught  thousands  to  be  reconciled 
to  fate  or  the  painful  consequence  of  iron  duty. 
It  has  probably  done  more  to  bring  submission 
to  the  distressed  than  any  other  utterance  from 
Christ.  When  the  petitional  prayer,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  cannot  be  answered,  the  prayer  of  sub¬ 
mission  may  still  be  made  with  telling  effect. 

Petitional  prayer  is  limited,  the  prayer  of  sub¬ 
mission  is  limitless.  There  is  no  disaster  over 
which  it  cannot  triumph.  Submission  calms  an 
excited  mind,  effects  reconciliation  to,  and  even 
cheerful  acceptance  of,  the  catastrophe,  and  pre¬ 
serves  the  integrity  of  the  personality.  It  keeps 
life  free  from  the  paralysis  of  pessimism.  The  dis¬ 
position  wrought  by  submission  averts  the  peril 
and  blight  of  a  disrupted,  despairing  and  fractured 
mind.  A  young  clergyman  recently  remarked  that 
if  his  child  were  sick  unto  death,  he  would  still 
pray,  not  to  save  the  infant’s  life,  but  to  find  comfort 
and  resignation  in  the  hour  of  trial.  The  submissive 
soul  assimilates,  to  the  conservation  of  its  faith 
and  peace,  a  naturally  grim  event.  The  calamity 


214 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


is  incorporated  into  life’s  program,  spiritualized 
and  interpreted  as  a  form  of  discipline. 

The  martyr  spirit. — The  spirit  of  resignation  is 
often  glorified  in  martyrdom.  A  study  in  the 
psychology  of  the  martyr-mind  would  doubtless 
bring  to  light  a  disposition  that  glories  in  making 
a  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  principle.  While  the 
suffering  of  martyrs  who  have  been  tortured  to 
death  in  times  past  excite  our  commiseration,  we 
may  rest  assured  that  many  a  genuine  martyr' 
would  have  been  secretly  and  deeply  disappointed 
if  he  had  not  been  condemned  to  seal  his  convic¬ 
tions  with  his  life.  Far  more  than  life  itself,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  martyr-constitution,  is  the  privilege  of 
suffering  for  one’s  ideals. 

Christian  submission  is  not  the  bending  of  the 
back  of  a  slave  to  the  lash  of  a  taskmaster,  but 
the  breaking  of  the  chains  of  misfortune.  It  is  not 
a  ladder  lying  upon  the  ground,  but  a  ladder  set 
up  by  which  to  climb.  Beaten  with  rods,  stoned, 
destitute,  hungry,  cold,  betrayed  by  his  own  coun¬ 
trymen,  and  forsaken  by  his  friends,  Paul  regards 
his  manifold  trials  and  tribulations  endured  for 
the  sake  of  the  gospel  as  signal  honors  and  marks 
of  distinction.  Submission  to  misfortune  was  not 
mere  pious  resignation,  it  was  the  glorification  of 
tribulation  and  the  construction  of  a  victorious  self. 
The  spirit  of  submission  was  active  rather  than 
passive. 

Dramatic  responses. — Occasionally  the  prayer  of 
submission,  like  other  types  of  devotional  prayer, 
is  accompanied  by  voices  and  visions  which  bring 
comfort  and  consolation.  It  has  been  repeatedly 
stated  in  these  pages  that  mental  structure  and 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  215 


character  determine  the  forms  of  religious  expe¬ 
rience.  Where  favorable  temperamental  conditions 
obtain,  this  type  of  prayer  relation  may  induce 
the  outward  projection  of  the  ideas  associated  with 
submission.  A  friend  relates  that  his  young  child 
was  so  ill  that  he  was  pronounced  incurable  by 
the  attending  physicians.  In  deep  distress,  the 
father  prayed  for  grace  to  yield  to  the  inevitable. 
One  can  imagine  the  depression  and  anguish  of  the 
parent.  One  morning  while  shoveling  coal  into 
the  furnace  in  the  basement  of  the  house,  he  heard 
a  voice  saying,  “Fear  not,”  which  comforted  him 
immeasurably.  The  attitude  of  resignation  had 
become  audible. 

The  prayer  of  communion. — Many  souls  cannot 
rest  until  they  have  .unified  life  through  man’s 
highest  and  most  sacred  privilege — communion 
with  God.  They  are  torn  asunder  whenever  con¬ 
vinced  that  something  has  disturbed  their  fellow¬ 
ship  with  the  Most  High.  Psychology  is  not  called 
upon  to  answer  the  question  as  to  the  ultimate 
nature  of  the  experience  known  as  the  presence  of 
God.  This  task  belongs  to  philosophy.  Never¬ 
theless,  psychology  may  describe  the  experience  as 
a  process.7 

The  social  nature  of  man  and  fellowship  with  God . — 
The  deeply  rooted  social  nature  of  man  may 
account  for  the  burning  desire  which  we  have 
to  hold  communion  with  God.  The  impulse  is 


7  For  a  well-poised  discussion  of  mysticism  in  both  its  milder  and  more  extreme 
forms  see  Pratt,  J.  B.:  The  Religious  Consciousness,  Chapters  XVI-XX.  The 
Macmillan  Company. 

For  an  illuminating  historical  survey  of  mysticism  see  Jones,  Rufus  M.:  Studies 
in  Mystical  Religion.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

For  a  popular  treatise  of  present-day  types  of  mystical  experiences  see  Buck- 
ham,  J.  W.:  Mysticism  and  Modern  Life.  The  Abingdon  Press. 


2l6 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


akin  to  man’s  instinct  to  fellowship  with  man.  If 
man  may  have  fellowship  with  man,  why  not  with 
God  as  friend  with  friend?  Christianity  preaches 
that  God  is  a  Father  vitally  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  each  individual,  and  that  all  men  are  brothers. 
The  logical  inference  is  that  a  son  may  commune 
with  his  father  as  well  as  with  his  brothers.  The 
Christian  religion,  furthermore,  teaches  that  when 
all  others  forsake  us,  God  remains  our  constant 
Friend;  that  when  we  stand  friendless  here  below, 
we  have  a  Friend  eternal  in  the  heavens.  This 
form  of  religion  is  social,  and  as  such  leans  toward 
conscious  relationship  with  God. 

Ethical  communion  with  God. — Among  many  men 
of  the  predominantly  active  and  intellectual  type 
contact  with  God  is  believed  to  be  made  when  the 
best  of  which  they  are  capable  is  expressed  in  moral 
living.  They  affirm  that  they  touch  the  Highest 
when  thought  and  purpose  are  in  harmony  with 
the  moral  and  social  requirements  of  the  religious 
spirit  of  the  times.  They  regard  moral  sensitivity 
and  the  consciousness  of  duty  as  the  presence  and 
will  of  God.  They  tell  us  that  God  is  not  to  be 
comprehended  in  a  complex  of  emotions  but  to  be 
apprehended  in  moral  action. 

While  the  mystical  temperament  regards  the 
justice  and  mercy  required  by  the  Lord  as  the 
normal  outcome  of  union  and  communion  with 
God,  others  insist  that  the  practice  of  these  funda¬ 
mental  virtues  constitutes  the  humble  walk  with 
Jehovah.  They  maintain  that  it  is  not  emotional 
rapture  or  prophetic  ecstasy  but  moral  uprightness 
that  effects  union  with  God.  The  closeness  of  our 
walk  with  him  varies  directly  with  our  moral  atti- 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  217 


tudes.  Father  and  son  may  live  under  the  same 
roof,  eat  at  the  same  table  and  work  side  by  side, 
and  incompatibility  may  keep  them  leagues  apart. 

He  who  holds  ethical  communion  with  God  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that,  according  to  the  Beati¬ 
tudes,  it  is  necessary  to  be  pure  in  heart  before 
we  can  see  God  and  to  be  peacemakers  before  we 
can  be  called  the  children  of  God.  Not  in  dazzling 
vision  or  rare  moment  of  exaltation  but  in  the 
application  of  his  principles  to  ourselves  and  social 
conditions  do  we  see  Christ.  In  the  words  of  the 
recently  discovered  saying  of  Jesus,  “Raise  the 
stone,  and  thou  shalt  find  me;  cleave  the  wood, 
and  there  am  I.” 

Metaphysical  communion  with  God. — But  the  warmer 
type  craves  a  mystical  fellowship  with  God,  not 
only  as  a  source  of  moral  inspiration,  but  for  the 
sake  of  communion  itself.  The  man  of  mystical  v 
disposition  achieves  the  consciousness  of  God 
within  him  through  the  prayer  of  communion, 
through  meditation  and  a  responsive  attitude  to 
divine  promptings.  When  he  is  still,  he  knows  that 
God  is  a  reality.  Consciousness  is  unified  by  the  y/' 
central  controlling  idea  of  God,  the  prevailing 
emotional  tone  being  that  of  adoration,  wonder, 
admiration,  awe,  reverence.  Statements  like  the 
following,  selected  from  the  replies  to  questions 
concerning  communion  with  God,  reveal  the  in¬ 
timacy  and  warmth  of  the  experience:  “I  have 
attained  a  distinct  feeling  of  the  presence  of  God 
verging  on  the  mystical  sense.’ ’  “Sometimes  he 
has  seemed  inexpressively  near — all-enveloping,  etc.” 
“Yes,  some  brooding  spirit  out  of  which  my  soul  has 
sprung,  and  in  the  heart  of  which  it  must  be  held 


2l8 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


if  my  soul  is  satisfied.”  Brother  Lawrence  writes: 
“I  cannot  imagine  how  religious  persons  can  live 
satisfied  without  the  practice  of  the  presence  of 
God.  For  my  part,  I  keep  myself  retired  with  him 
in  the  fund  or  center  of  my  soul  as  much  as  I  can; 
and  while  I  am  so  with  him  I  fear  nothing,  but  the 
least  turning  from  him  is  insupportable.  .  .  .  Let  us 
live  and  die  with  God.  Suffering  will  be  sweet 
and  pleasant  to  us  while  we  are  with  him;  and  the 
greatest  pleasures  will  be,  without  him,  a  cruel 
punishment  to  us.”8 

Attention  in  prayers  of  fellowship. — The  prayer  of 
communion  exhibits  not  only  the  process  of  psy¬ 
chosynthesis,  but  also  the  trait  of  attention  so 
prominent  in  petitional  prayer.  The  following 
accounts  given  by  trustworthy  persons  are  charac¬ 
teristic:  “I  make  the  effort  to  feel  the  presence 
of  God.”  “If  I  allow  the  cares  of  life  to  enter  in 
and  distract  my  thoughts,  then  this  is  not  so.” 
“The  presence  of  God  is  felt  in  varying  degrees 
according  to  the  concentration  of  attention.” 

The  function  of  communion. — In  a  passage  of  rare 
beauty  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite,  shows  how 
“pure  prayer”  unites  the  soul  with  God.  Prayer 
draws  the  soul  toward  the  divine  union,  “as  if  a 
luminous  chain  were  suspended  from  the  celestial 
heights,  and  we,  by  ever  clutching  this,  first  with 
one  hand  and  then  with  the  other,  seem  to  draw  it 
down,  but  in  reality  we  are  ourselves  carried  up¬ 
ward  to  the  high  splendors  of  the  luminous  rays. 
Or  as  if,  after  we  have  embarked  on  a  ship  and 
are  holding  on  to  the  cable  reaching  to  some  rock, 

8  Brother  Lawrence:  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  Cod,  pp.  32-34.  American 
Baptist  Publishing  Society. 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  219 


we  do  not  draw  the  rock  to  us,  but  draw,  in  fact, 
ourselves  and  the  ship  to  the  rock.”9 

It  is  not  one  function  of  the  prayer  of  communion 
to  change  the  mind  of  God,  but  to  bring  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  man  into  harmony  with  the  will  of  God. 
Communion  does  not  pull  God  down  to  our  level 
of  insight  and  action  but  lifts  us  up  to  God’s  level. 
Prayer  is  not  a  pious  attempt  to  persuade  God 
to  do  what  is  contrary  to  his  wisdom  and  goodness. 
The  account  of  Jacob  struggling  with  Jehovah  for 
a  blessing  should  not  be  misconstrued  as  an  effort 
to  overpower  God  and  to  wrest  from  him  by  sheer 
force  a  reluctant  favor.  Jacob  contended  with  his 
lower  inclinations  and  in  an  intensely  dramatic 
prayer  experience  achieved  the  victory  over  himself. 
Prayer  did  not  bring  Jehovah  down  to  the  moral 
level  of  Jacob,  but  it  did  lift  Jacob  up  to  a  higher 
plane.10 

Saint  Augustine  writes:  “ I  have  gone  astray  like 
a  Sheep  that  was  lost,  seeking  thee  with  great 
anxiety  without,  when  yet  thou  art  within,  and 
dwellest  in  my  Soul,  if  it  desire  thy  presence.  I 
wandered  about  the  Villages  and  Streets  of  the 
City  of  this  world,  inquiring  for  thee  everywhere 
and  found  thee  not;  because  I  expected  to  meet 
that  abroad,  which  all  the  while  I  had  at  home.  .  .  . 
For  thou  hast  not  the  form  of  a  Body,  nor  the 
whiteness  of  Light,  nor  the  sparkling  of  Precious 
Stones,  nor  the  Harmony  of  Music,  nor  the  fra- 
grancy  of  Flowers,  or  Ointments,  or  Spices,  nor  the 
delicious  taste  of  Honey,  nor  the  charms  of  those 
things  that  are  pleasant  to  the  Touch,  nor  any 

•  Divine  Names,  III,  i.  Also  cited  in  Jones,  Rufus  M.:  Studies  in  Mystical 
Religion,  p.  no.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

10  Genesis  32:  22-32. 


220 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


other  qualities  by  which  our  Senses  are  entertained. 
.  .  .  Thanks  to  that  light,  which  discovered  itself  to 
Me,  and  Me  to  myself.  For  in  finding  and  in  know¬ 
ing  myself,  I  find  and  know  Thee.”11 

Grant  the  existence  of  God,  and  it  is  prayer, 
and  especially  the  prayer  of  communion,  that 
makes  him  real  and  intensifies  the  consciousness 
of  him.  But  many  men  to-day  are  too  perplexed 
to  pray  to  God  with  sufficient  initial  confidence. 
They  are  confused  and  wistful  rather  than  doubt¬ 
ful  and  skeptical  about  the  reality  of  approaching 
God.  They  would  like  to  pray  with  the  assurance 
of  reaching  the  mind  of  God,  but  they  have  become 
distracted  and  disturbed  by  modern  science.  Be¬ 
fore  such  persons  can  call  upon  God  with  the  belief 
that  they  will  be  heard  they  must  adopt  a  spiritual 
interpretation  of  the  natural  world,  and  appreciate 
the  intelligence  of  God  and  the  worth  of  man. 

They  must  see  the  whole  world  of  nature  in 
God.  With  the  grasping  of  the  fact  that  the  world 
we  inhabit  is  law-abiding,  man  has  been  compelled 
to  abandon  his  crude  notion  of  prayer  as  a  process 
which  takes  no  account  of  the  stability  and  uni¬ 
formity  of  natural  events.  But  no  man  can  pray 
into  a  machine  in  which  he  feels  himself  but  a 
cog  in  a  wheel  within  wheels  and  expect  it  to  respond 
to  a  personal  appeal.  Until  one  thoroughly  appre¬ 
ciates  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  the  laws  of  God, 
that  the  natural  world  is  but  the  outward  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  creative  energy  of  God,  that  without 
the  constant  and  consistent  activity  of  God  the 
world  could  not  exist  for  a  single  moment,  he  can¬ 
not  pray  to  God  with  a  sense  of  reality  and  a  con- 


11  Mediations  of  St.  Augustine,  made  English  by  Stanhope,  George,  pp.  224-227. 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS  221 


viction  that  he  will  be  heard.  The  mind  should, 
as  it  were,  hold  a  saturated  solution  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  immanence  of  God. 

The  dignity  of  man  and  prayer. — In  view  of  the 
enormity  and  complexity  of  the  universe,  one  may 
feel  too  insignificant  to  come  within  the  range  of 
the  personal  attention  of  God.  One  may  feel  lost 
in  the  vastness  of  the  worlds,  and  find  it  hard  to 
believe  that  one’s  cry  will  pierce  the  heart  of  the 
Eternal.  Feeling  like  a  mote  in  the  summer  air 
one  may  cry  in  the  words  of  the  psalmist:  “What 
is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?  and  the  son 
of  man  that  thou  visitest  him?”  Only  when  man 
grasps  something  of  the  value  of  himself  as  pointed 
out  in  the  answer  of  the  same  psalmist,  “For  thou 
hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  God,  and 
crownest  him  with  glory  and  honor,”12  can  he  come 
unto  Him  who  responds  to  prayer.  When  we 
realize  that  we  are  immortal  and  morally  respon¬ 
sible  beings,  created  in  the  image  and  likeness  of 
God,  we  take  courage. 

The  intelligence  of  God  and  fellowship. — To  a 
richer  conception  of  man  must  be  added  a  deeper 
valuation  of  God.  One  may  freely  concede  that 
man  is  an  exalted  being  and  still  ask  how  it  is  possi¬ 
ble  for  God  to  individualize  humanity,  to  pay 
attention  to  each  one  of  the  many  millions  of  men. 
How  can  God  number  the  hairs  of  the  heads  of  so 
many,  how  can  he  note  the  fall  of  so  many  spar¬ 
rows?  A  conception  of  God’s  individual  care  is 
essential  to  earnest  prayer.  Communion  with  God 
is  out  of  the  question  so  long  as  one  is  perplexed 
by  the  conception  that  God’s  knowledge  of  a 


u  Psalm  8:  5. 


222 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


system  of  worlds  is  diffuse  and  his  interest  in  it 
general. 

Now,  the  more  we  know  about  anything  the 
more  detailed  our  information.  Knowledge  breaks 
up  masses  into  their  constituent  elements.  It  sepa¬ 
rates  a  combination  into  its  several  parts.  Ignorance 
sees  a  thing  as  a  vague  whole,  but  knowledge 
reduces  a  whole  to  its  units  and  understands  each 
one  of  them.  The  more  a  shepherd  knows  about 
his  flock,  the  less  he  sees  it  as  a  whole  and  the  more 
he  knows  about  each  sheep.  The  more  intelligent 
the  carpenter,  the  more  he  knows  about  the  par¬ 
ticulars  of  the  house  he  constructs.  If  the  world 
is  the  product  of  a  continuous  creative  activity  of 
God,  we  may  be  sure  that  he  understands  it  to  the 
last  and  minutest  detail.  If  God  conducts  a  com¬ 
plex  system  of  worlds,  it  follows  that  his  intelligence 
is  equal  to  his  responsibilities.  His  knowledge  and 
care  must  be  intensive  as  well  as  extensive,  indi¬ 
vidual  as  well  as  comprehensive. 

“Consider,  then,  the  meaning  of  God’s  knowledge 
of  men.  When  a  stranger  thinks  of  China,  he 
imagines  a  vague  multitude,  with  faces  that  look 
all  alike.  When  a  missionary  thinks  of  China,  the 
vague  multitude  is  shaken  loose  in  one  spot,  and 
individuals  there  stand  out,  separately  known  and 
loved.  When  God  thinks  of  China,  he  knows  every 
one  of  the  Chinese  by  name.  He  does  for  humanity 
what  a  librarian  does  for  his  books,  or  an  engineer 
for  his  turbines.  We  stand,  everyone,  separate  in 
his  thought.  He  lifts  us  up  from  the  obscurity 
of  our  littleness;  he  picks  us  out  from  the  multitude 
of  our  fellows;  he  gives  to  our  lives  the  dignity  of 
his  individual  care.  The  Eternal  God  calls  us 


OTHER  DEVOTIONAL  PRAYERS 


223 


everyone  by  name.  He  is  not  the  God  of  man¬ 
kind  in  the  mass;  he  is  the  God  of  Abraham,  of 
Isaac,  and  of  Jacob!”13 
* 

SUMMARY 

The  devotional  prayers,  exhibiting  as  they  do 
the  technic  and  mechanism  of  psychosynthesis, 
assimilate  an  ideal  or  a  crisis  and  recombine  the 
elements  of  life.  A  higher  fusion  is  created  in 
terms  of  the  fresh  spiritual  insight.  The  prayer  of 
aspiration  is  a  moral  dynamic,  the  prayer  of  con¬ 
secration  socializes  the  personality,  the  prayer  of 
submission  incorporates  the  inevitable  pain  and 
sorrow  in  life’s  program,  the  prayer  of  communion 
links  the  soul  in  living  relation  to  Reality.  Devo¬ 
tional  attitudes  clarify  the  ideals,  deepen  the  moral 
convictions,  give  life  direction  and  purpose,  pre¬ 
serve  the  peace  and  poise  of  the  mind,  and  satisfy 
the  craving  of  the  soul  for  fellowship  with  the 
Highest.  Situations  that  were  once  external  pres¬ 
sures  become  internal  possessions.  Ideals  which 
were  peripheral  become  inward  and  central.  The 
greatest  achievement  of  prayer  is  God-conscious¬ 
ness.  It  rests  the  soul  and  gives  the  whole  world  a 
divine  significance.  The  consciousness  of  God  as  an 
inner  presence  and  influence  is  the  soul  of  prayer. 


is  Fosdick,  H.  E.:  The  Meaning  >f  Prayer,  pp.  so,  51.  Association  Press. 


CHAPTER  XI 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 

Professor  James  in  a  passage  which  cannot 
be  quoted  too  often  remarks  that  although  many 
reasons  are  given  why  we  should  or  should  not 
pray  but  little  is  said  of  the  reason  why  we  do 
actually  pray.  Concerning  the  neglected  item  he 
writes,  “The  reason  why  we  do  pray  is  simply 
that  we  cannot  help  praying.”  This  is  one  way  of 
saying  that  prayer  is  instinctive.  The  act  of  prayer 
is  an  elemental  function  of  human  nature;  it  is  as 
natural  as  breathing,  as  normal  as  love. 

Religion  and  prayer  are  inseparable.  In  prayer 
the  lines  of  religion  converge.  Prayer  is  at  once 
the  outgrowth  and  the  soul  of  religion.  Prayer 
is  religion  functioning.  The  religious  nature  of 
man  is  sustained  by  prayer  and  kept  alive  by  wor¬ 
ship.  When  prayer  ceases  religion  dies.  The  his¬ 
tory  of  the  one  is  the  history  of  the  other.  To 
understand  the  one  is  to  understand  the  other. 

If  the  one  is  instinctive,  the  other  is  instinctive  also. 

RELIGION  AND  PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 

—  - 

Religion  is  man’s  response  to  the  supernatural. 

In  lower  forms  of  religion,  the  response  is  crude 
and  often  morally  undeveloped;  in  the  higher  types 
it  is  essentially  ethical  and  social.  The  Christian 
religion  is  the  guidance  of  life  as  a  whole  by  the 

consciousness  of  God  as  he  is  revealed  by  Christ. 

224 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 


225 


The  basis  of  all  forms  of  religion,  however  much 
they  may  vary  one  from  the  other,  is  instinctive. 
Comprehensively  defined,  an  instinct  is  an  inherited 
and  unpremeditated  tendency  to  act.  It  is  an 
inborn  readiness  to  act  without  being  taught,  an 
innate  preparedness  to  meet  particular  situations 
for  the  first  time.  The  purpose  of  the  instinctive 
response  is  unforeseen  by  animals,  but  in  the  case 
of  all  normal  human  beings,  with  the  exception  of 
infants,  ideas  and  reason  throw  light  upon  it.  The 
ends  which  love,  for  instance,  subserves  are  not 
wholly  unknown  to  intelligent  lovers.  Now,  reli¬ 
gion  and  the  human  instincts  bear  the  same  essential 
traits.  There  is  a  universal  inborn  readiness  to 
respond  religiously  to  our  total  environment. 

Impulses  are  common  to  the  species.  All  normal 
human  beings  possess  the  capacity  for  fear,  fighting, 
anger,  sex,  sociability,  shyness,  sympathy,  affec¬ 
tion,  altruism,  modesty,  secretiveness,  rivalry,  jeal¬ 
ousy,  envy,  play,  curiosity,  destruction,  construction, 
acquisitiveness,  love  of  approbation,  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful.  That  religion  is  universal  should  be 
stated  but  need  not  be  enlarged  upon  in  this  con¬ 
nection.  The  individual  or  tribe  without  the  im¬ 
pulse  and  capacity  to  worship  is  as  abnormal  as  the 
one  devoid  of  the  instinct  of  fear  or  curiosity. 

Prayer  is  practically  universal.  A  few  systems  of 
religion,  like  Shinto  and  Buddhism,  originally  tried 
to  dispense  with  prayer,  but  failed  fully  to  repress 
the  unconquerable  disposition.  According  to  the 
strict  letter  of  the  tenets  of  Shinto,  the  prayers  of 
the  Mikado  of  Japan  suffice  for  all  its  devotees, 
but  thousands  visit  the  shrines  of  this  cult,  deposit 
a  gift  of  money  and  offer  prayers.  Buddhism  also 


226  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


has  made  concessions  to  prayer.  Buddhism,  in  its 
original  purity,  seeks  to  rid  the  self  of  all  desire, 
which  logically  precludes  prayers  that  are  rooted 
in  a  sense  of  need.  But  Buddha  has  been  deified 
and  is  being  worshiped  by  millions.  Where  Bud¬ 
dhism  has  been  extensively  embraced,  the  prayer- 
wheel  and  the  rosary  flourish.  Confucius,  the 
Chinese  moralist,  advised  his  disciples  to  have  but 
little  to  do  with  the  gods,  but  to-day  he  himself 
is  worshiped  as  a  god  by  millions.  On  the  contrary, 
Christianity  has  always  consistently  preached  that 
the  prayer  life  is  fundamental,  that  it  should  be 
assiduously  cultivated,  that  its  atrophy  is  a  calam¬ 
ity.  The  fact  that  prayer  is  so  prevalent,  even 
among  the  adherents  of  faiths  logically  opposed  to 
it,  is  one  indication  of  its  instinctive  nature. 

The  variableness  of  the  form  of  instinct  and  of 
religion. — The  innate  impulses  are  indefinite  and 
modifiable.  They  are  active  attitudes  and  primitive 
capacities  which  derive  their  form  and  final  character 
from  environment  and  experience.  The  instinct  to 
play  is  inborn,  but  just  what  particular  games  the 
child  shall  play  is  largely  determined  by  the  sur¬ 
roundings  into  which  the  child  is  thrust.  Imitation 
of  adult  activities,  as  a  rule,  gives  the  play  impulse 
its  mode  of  expression.  In  the  make-believe  world 
of  the  child  of  to-day  a  chair  becomes  an  airplane,  in 
the  play  of  a  former  generation  the  chair  may  have 
been  a  spinning-wheel. 

The  religious  impulse  is  likewise  modifiable  and 
indefinite.  It  impels  us  to  worship  a  higher  power 
and  to  regulate  life  by  what  we  conceive  to  be  the 
will  of  God,  but  just  what  in  particular  our  con¬ 
ception  of  God  shall  be  and  what  obligations  we 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 


227 


shall  feel  toward  him  is  largely  conditioned  by 
experience.  We  are  not  ushered  into  the  world 
with  a  complete  and  definite  set  of  beliefs  and 
practices,  but  with  a  capacity  and  tendency  to 
acquire  them  as  we  live.  Religious  attitudes  and 
possibilities  are  inborn  traits  and  instinctive  but 
their  form  and  content  is  largely  determined  by 
instruction  and  training.  The  most  accurate  reason 
most  of  us  can  give  for  belonging  to  this  or  that 
religious  denomination  is  that  we  were  brought  up 
in  it.  The  prayer  attitude  which  is  inbred  is  wide 
and  general,  and  in  the  course  of  experience  receives 
its  specific  and  particular  point  and  direction. 

The  primacy  of  instinct  and  religion. — Further¬ 
more,  instinct  is  more  fundamental  and  controlling 
than  reason.  Ideas  are  personally  acquired,  instincts 
are  a  racial  inheritance.  When  the  two  clash, 
instinct  is  in  the  end  victorious.  The  religious 
impulse  is  more  elemental  and  influential  than 
antagonistic  opinion.  The  one  is  innate,  the  other 
acquired.  The  skepticism  which  for  a  season  ridi¬ 
cules  prayer  and  casts  it  aside  goes  down  before  the 
rush  and  surge  of  the  religious  impulse  loosed  by 
overwhelming  needs  or  crushing  burdens.  No  matter 
how  cogently  a  person  may  have  reasoned  himself 
out  of  conscious  dependence  upon  a  personal  and 
creative  God,  peril,  grief,  responsibility,  anything 
that  shakes  the  soul  to  its  foundations,  consumes 
his  disbelief  and  induces  him  to  pray.  Prayer  as 
a  primal  tendency  is  underground  and  latent  in 
even  the  most  skeptical.  Unless  human  nature 
changes  in  unpredictable  ways,  men,  being  instinc¬ 
tively  impelled,  will  always  pray. 

Prayer  elemental. — Religion  as  instinctive,  far 


228 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


from  being  a  disconnected  and  detachable  interest, 
is  an  elemental  constituent  of  human  nature.  It 
is  not  the  product  of  mere  reason,  an  after-thought, 
an  intellectual  amendment  to  life,  but  a  normal 
and  constitutional  factor  of  the  self.  Without  the 
religious  impulse  man  would  be  as  fractional  and 
fractured  as  a  self  without  fear,  as  maimed  and 
truncated  as  a  body  without  a  head.  It  is  as  essen¬ 
tial  to  the  wholesomeness  and  fullness  of  life  as 
memory  or  sociability.  Its  purpose  is  to  adjust 
life  to  the  plan  and  will  of  God.  Through  prayer 
the  religious  nature  of  man  coordinates  and  cor¬ 
relates,  regulates  and  dominates  his  social  and 
moral  relations.  The  prayer  tendency  is  not 
something  superimposed,  or  thrust  upon  us  from 
without,  but  an  inner  racial  urge,  a  primal  drive. 
A  life  absolutely  devoid  of  the  prayer  impulse  would 
be  as  abnormal  as  a  self  without  affection.  The 
impulse  to  worship  is  not  an  acquired  taste,  but  an 
inheritance,  an  inward  compulsion. 

Is  there  a  special  religious  instinct? — Among 
those  who  contend  that  religion  is  instinctive  there 
is  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  whether  there  is  a 
distinct  and  distinguishable  religious  instinct.  Some, 
opposed  to  the  theory  that  there  is  a  special  religious 
instinct,  believe  that  the  religious  response  con¬ 
sists  in  the  organization  and  direction  of  the  various 
instinctive  capacities  for  social  living.  The  religious 
impulse  is  involved  in  all  primitive  urges,  and  when 
all  instincts  are  functioning  normally,  harmoniously 
and  especially  socially  the  person  is  truly  religious.1 

Others  maintain  that  there  is  a  religious  impulse 

1  For  further  discussion  of  this  theory  see  Coe,  G.  A.:  The  Psychology  of  Re¬ 
ligion,  Chapters  IV  and  XIX.  The  University  of  Chicago  Press. 

'V 


Ns 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 


229 


as  definite  and  describable  as  anger  or  curiosity. 
Religion  is  a  regulative  impulse.  Its  purpose  is 
to  make  harmony  among  the  propulsions  within  the 
self,  and  between  the  individual  and  the  world  of 
nature  and  persons.  The  religious  instinct  regu¬ 
lates  life,  just  as  nesting  among  birds  ministers  to 
brooding  and  hatching,  or  modesty  furthers  the 
love  relation.  If  a  part  of  the  cerebellum  of  the 
brain  be  removed,  a  lack  of  coordination  in  move¬ 
ment  results,  and  one  staggers  like  a  drunken  man. 
What  the  cerebellum  is  to  the  bodily  organism 
religion  is  to  the  moral  and  social  life.  The  religious 
impulse,  properly  cultivated,  adjusts  and  controls 
all  the  instinctive  capacities,  refining  some,  com¬ 
pounding  and  fusing  others,  arresting  the  growth 
of  still  others,  and  sometimes  substituting  the  one 
for  the  other.  As  such  its  characteristics  are  as 
marked  as  those  of  any  other  impulse.2 

SCIENCE  AND  PRAYER 

Manifestly,  science  can  be  no  substitute  for  such 
a  constitutional  and  instinctive  activity  as  prayer. 
For  things  elemental  there  are  no  alternatives. 
Science  and  religion  differ  so  radically  in  nature, 
method,  and  function  that  neither  can  take  the 
place  of  the  other. 

Difference  in  purpose. — Their  spheres  of  responsi^ 
bility  are  far  from  identical  and  interchangeable. 
It  is  the  function  of  science  to  examine,  to  describe, 
and  to  classify  the  facts  of  the  natural  world.  It 
attempts  to  reduce  the  events  of  nature  to  the 
constant  and  consistent  modes  of  behavior  we 
call  laws.  Applied  science  bends  the  laws  of  nature 


2  This  vidw  is  most  convincingly  set  forth  by  Starbuck. 


230  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


to  the  practical  purposes  of  man;  hence  we  have, 
for  example,  the  psychology  of  education,  of  public 
speaking,  of  salesmanship,  of  advertising.  Religion, 
on  the  other  hand,  concerns  itself  with  the  origin 
of  the  world  which  science  investigates,  with  its 
meaning,  its  destiny.  It  occupies  itself  with  God 
as  the  supreme  energizing  Being,  with  the  moral 
self-determination  of  man,  with  life  after  death, 
with  what  man  should  strive  for  and  pursue  as  the 
highest  good. 

Difference  in  approach. — The  uniqueness  of  each 
is  further  revealed  by  their  difference  in  method. 
The  method  of  science  is  induction,  the  observation 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  particular  instances  and 
the  extension  of  the  truth  common  to  them,  to  all 
cases  of  the  same  class.  The  method  of  religion 
is  deduction.  It  relies  upon  faith,  intuition,  life. 
It  tests  its  propositions  by  the  heart  and  by  their 
social  influence.  Religious  truth  cannot  be  dis¬ 
covered  in  a  laboratory  exercise.  It  cannot  be 
proved  by  the  rules  of  formal  logic.  It  is  quite 
as  impossible  to  prove  the  existence  of  God  to  one 
who  disbelieves  in  him  as  it  is  to  disprove  his  existence 
to  one  who  believes  in  him.  The  recent  emphasis 
upon  intuition,  faith,  and  moral  action  as  sources 
of  truth  is  a  wholesome  corrective  for  an  almost 
exclusive  dependence  upon  the  method  of  science 
for  the  discovery  of  values. 

Nevertheless,  the  proposal  has  been  made  that 
we  let  applied  science  displace  religion.  Why  not 
disengage  the  discernible  psychological  mechan¬ 
ism  in  prayer  from  religion  and  use  it  to  further 
the  moral  life?  Why  not  make  use  of  suggestion 
alone  and  as  such?  When  a  memory  has  turned 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 


231 


inward  and  is  lacerating  the  soul,  why  not  find 
relief  in  psychoanalysis  apart  from  prayer?  Why 
not  keep  life  unified  and  whole  through  a  process 
of  mere  psychosynthesis?  An  inadequate  under¬ 
standing  of  the  meaning  and  value  of  both  religion 
and  science  is  the  father  of  such  notions. 

Religion  as  creative. — All  progress  in  moral  and 
social  relations  is  contingent  upon  an  inner  craving 
for  the  richer,  fuller,  freer  life.  Without  ante¬ 
cedent  desires  and  aspiration  there  is  no  moral 
advancement.  There  must  be  an  ideal  and  a  sense 
of  obligation.  But  whence  comes  the  consciousness 
of  incompleteness  and  the  yearning  for  more  life? 
The  mental  structures  such  as  suggestion,  psycho¬ 
analysis,  and  psychosynthesis  which  we  have  dis¬ 
covered  in  prayer  are  not  of  themselves  creative; 
they  do  not  build  ideals  and  arouse  a  sense  of  duty. 
Before  these  processes  are  constructed  and  em¬ 
ployed  by  the  prayer  impulse  there  is  a  hungering 
and  thirsting  after  righteousness. 

Religion  supplies  the  incentive  for  moral  improve¬ 
ment.  The  religious  nature  of  man  instinctively 
creates  a  standard  of  conduct  interpreted  as  the 
will  of  God.  Whatever  is  accepted  as  a  divine 
obligation  is  binding  upon  both  the  conscience  and 
the  will  of  man.  To  keep  life  unified  and  whole 
man  resorts  to  the  appeal  of  God.  Prayer  which 
is  a  religious  impulse,  becomes  active,  grips  and 
divides  the  self  in  order  that  it  may  recombine  the 
purged  and  transformed  elements.  It  is  at  once 
conscience-stirring  and  soul-satisfying.  Religion, 
especially  Christianity,  is  at  once  a  moral  revela¬ 
tion  and  a  moral  dynamic.  Religiously  motivated, 
man  achieves  spiritual  ends  by  creating  mental 


232 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


means  which  themselves  are  morally  and  religiously 
neutral. 

The  emotional  value  of  the  religious  impulse  is 
significant.  Emotion  is  the  conscious  accompani¬ 
ment  of  instinct,  being  either  pleasant  or  unpleasant 
in  quality.  So  rich  in  emotion  are  some  instincts, 
like  fear  and  love,  that  they  are  called  emotions 
rather  than  instincts  by  those  who  are  not  con¬ 
versant  with  the  psychological  classification.  Man 
is  swayed  by  primal  emotions  as  by  almost  irre¬ 
sistible  forces.  Emotions  are  impulsive;  they  tend 
toward  action.  The  religious  nature  of  man  pos¬ 
sesses  a  high  potentiality  of  emotion  which,  except 
in  unbalanced  persons,  discharges  itself  in  worship 
and  moral  action.  Out  of  the  heart  there  surge 
forth  moral  and  religious  longings  and  desires  which 
the  prayer  attitude  and  act  strive  to  gratify.  Emo¬ 
tions  having  religious  value  profoundly  affect  the 
will.  Conduct  has  an  emotional  incentive  which 
mere  science  as  ail  intellectual  pursuit  cannot  supply. 

Religion  as  conservation. — Religion  not  only  holds 
before  us  the  vision  of  the  ideal  and  urges  us  to  be 
guided  by  it,  but  it  also  conserves  and  fortifies  our 
responses  to  it.  It  does  not  rescue  a  man  from  the 
sea  only  to  throw  him  back  into  the  hungry  waves. 
It  is  essentially  social.  In  its  organized  and  institu¬ 
tionalized  forms,  religion  exerts  a  definite  and  con¬ 
tinuous  social  pressure.  The  church  as  a  form  of 
organized  religion  is  an  unfailing  source  of  strength 
to  all  who  are  pledged  to  the  spiritual  life  it  seeks 
to  foster.  It  creates  an  environment  of  religious 
literature,  music,  art,  worship,  service.  It  brings 
kindred  souls  together  for  teaching,  inspiration,  and 
worship.  Science  has  nothing  to  offer  which  can 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE' 


233 


take  the  place  of  the  church  despite  its  admitted 
imperfections.  Material  things  do  not  satisfy  man; 
they  never  have  and  never  will.  Their  insufficiency 
is  abundantly  demonstrated.  True  satisfaction  is 
religious.  The  church  is  the  only  great  organiza¬ 
tion  which  has  the  opportunity  and  the  facilities 
to  construct  the  motives  of  love,  sympathy,  and 
cooperation,  in  which  satisfaction  is  rooted. 

THE  PRAYER  INSTINCT  AND  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  conviction  is  sweeping  through  the  peoples 
of  the  earth  that  the  present  competitive  world 
order  is  doomed.  They  are  looking  for  a  new 
earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.  The  world 
has  broken  down  under  the  pressure  of  the  present 
collective  life  of  man,  and  has  fallen  under  the 
condemnation  of  the  teeming  and  groaning  mil¬ 
lions.  Everywhere  there  is  a  lively  consciousness 
of  the  futility  of  the  system  upon  which  the  world 
is  now  rocking.  Things  once  reckoned  the  very 
foundations  of  civilization  have  collapsed. 

Misplaced  faith. — Commerce  has  not  kept  the 
peace  of  the  world.  Our  reliance  upon  barter  and 
trade,  the  bank  and  the  market,  to  weld  the  na¬ 
tions  together,  has  proved  to  be  a  delusion.  Inter¬ 
national  commercial  relations,  far  from  promoting 
world-peace  or  tranquillity  as  was  fondly  imagined, 
have  become  the  prolific  breeding  ground  of  war. 
The  struggle  for  foreign  markets  and  the  sources 
of  raw  materials  has  divided  and  embittered  men 
and  nations.  Business  on  a  large  as  well  as  on  a 
small  scale,  as  hitherto  conducted,  has  made  men 
rivals  and  not  brothers. 

Neither  can  industrial  and  economic  adventures, 


234 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


apart  from  spiritual  influences,  redeem  their  pledges. 
Granted  that  the  social  and  industrial  sores  of  the 
nation  should  be  healed,  an  economic  program, 
however  promising,  divorced  from  morals  and 
religion,  cannot  be  applied  and  realized.  The  most 
commendable  scheme  is  of  no  avail  when  the  leader¬ 
ship  to  which  it  is  committed  is  unscrupulous  and 
the  people  themselves  are  without  ethical  motives. 

Nor  has  science  held  the  world  together.  When 
the  scientific  brain  of  a  nation  is  obsessed  by  an 
unholy  ambition  the  whole  earth  is  imperiled.  To 
be  sure,  applied  science,  despite  the  peculiar  indus¬ 
trial  conditions  it  has  produced,  has  made  the  world 
more  comfortable,  at  least  in  peace  times.  It  has 
not  made  us  any  better.  All  practical  scientific 
accomplishments  are  but  blind  and  impersonal 
instruments  which  may  be  used  as  effectively  for 
evil  as  for  good.  The  submarine  is  a  scientific 
attainment,  but  when  it  is  in  the  hands  of  men 
animated  by  bad  philosophy,  the  lives  of  the  inno¬ 
cent  and  defenseless  are  menaced.  The  wireless  is 
a  startling  gift  of  science,  but  it  transmits  the 
message  of  deceit  and  hate  as  swiftly  and  accurately 
as  the  word  of  hope  and  love.  Inventions  are 
tools,  and  in  themselves  possess  no  redemptive 
power. 

Prayer  as  a  builder  of  a  new  world  order. — Only 

when  the  men  who  are  behind  the  commercial, 
economic,  and  scientific  interests  and  movements 
are  impelled  by  justice  and  mercy  can  there  be 
social  progress.  The  equality  of  men  at  the  polls, 
in  the  courts  of  law,  the  councils  of  the  state,  and 
the  places  of  industry  can  be  made  actual  and 
effective  only  by  a  democratic  religion  like  Chris- 


PRAYER  AS  INSTINCTIVE 


235 


tianity.  More  religion  is  needed  everywhere;  in 
the  mines,  in  the  fields,  the  forests,  the  schools, 
the  factories,  the  halls  of  legislation.  Religion  is 
the  only  force  the  world  has  ever  known  that  can 
draw  all  the  fine  capacities  of  men  into  the  service 
of  a  better  social  order. 

In  the  spiritual  culture  of  humanity  prayer  will 
ever  be  paramount.  As  both  self-assertion  and  self¬ 
surrender,  prayer  can  build  the  men  who  can  build 
a  new  world.  Not  as  a  substitute  for  science  or 
economics  or  government,  but  as  a  purifier  of  the 
springs  of  conduct  and  as  a  normal  source  of  poise 
and  power,  prayer  can  hasten  the  coming  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  which  is  the  desire  of  all  nations. 


V 


APPENDIX 

A  QUESTIONNAIRE  ON  PRAYER 

The  following  questions  mean  to  throw  light  on 
the  subject  of  prayer,  its  nature  and  scope.  This 
is  not  an  attempt  to  establish  any  doctrine,  but 
to  find  the  principles  which  underlie  prayer. 

1.  Are  you  conscious  of  the  presence  of  God  when 
you  pray? 

2.  In  your  prayers  do  you  make  constant  use 
of  the  promises  of  the  Bible? 

3.  Do  you  really  believe  that  God  will  answer 
your  prayers? 

4.  Has  your  prayer  life  been  hindered  by  any  of 
the  following  things:  haste,  irregularity,  want  of 
faith,  lack  of  definiteness,  etc.? 

5.  Are  your  prayers  sometimes  answered  in  unex¬ 
pected  ways?  Give  instances. 

6.  (0)  What  things  do  you  make  objects  of  prayer? 
( b )  What  things,  if  any,  do  you  regard  as  im¬ 
proper  objects  of  prayer? 

7.  State  what  success  you  have  had  through 
prayer  in  the  following  cases:  cure  of  disease,  change 
of  heart,  temporal  blessing,  purity  of  life,  elimina¬ 
tion  of  evil,  etc. 

8.  How  do  you  account  for  unanswered  prayers, 
if  there  be  such? 

9.  Which  do  you  find  the  more  effective:  public 
prayer  by  either  the  minister  or  the  congregation,  or 
private  prayer? 


237 


238  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


10.  Give  an  account  of  any  extraordinary  answers 
to  prayer  you  may  have  had. 

11.  Were  you  accustomed  to  pray  as  a  child? 

12.  Were  there  any  family  prayers  in  your  home? 

13.  Please  give 

(a)  Name,  ( b )  Age,  ( c )  Sex,  ( d )  Church 
affiliation,  if  any. 


A  SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


/"  Ames,  E.  S.:  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Expe¬ 
rience,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  New  York, 
1910. 

^Beck,  F.  O.:  Prayer:  A  Study  in  its  History  and 
Psychology ,  American  Journal  of  Religious 
Psychology  and  Education,  ii,  1906. 

Biederwolf,  W.  G.:  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  Chicago,  1906. 

Bowne,  B.  P.:  The  Essence  of  Religion ,  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  New  York,  1910. 

Brill,  A.  A.:  Psychoanalysis ,  W.  B.  Saunders,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1922. 

Buckham,  J.  W. :  Mysticism  and  Modern  Life , 
The  Abingdon  Press,  1915. 

Coe,  G.  A.:  The  Spiritual  Life ,  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  New  York,  1900. 

The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind ,  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  New  York,  1902. 

/  The  Psychology  of  Religion ,  University  of  Chi¬ 
cago  Press,  Chicago,  1917. 

/^Cutten,  G.  B.:  The  Psychological  Phenomena  of 
Christianity ,  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York, 
1908. 

Davenport,  F.  M.:  Primitive  Traits  in  Religious 
Revivals.  The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York, 
1905. 

Dominican  Father:  The  Rosary ,  Benziger  Bros., 
Chicago,  1900. 

Fosdick,  H.  E.:  The  Meaning  of  Prayer ,  Associa¬ 
tion  Press,  New  York,  1916. 

239 


240 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Freud,  Sigmund:  A  General  Introduction  to  Psy¬ 
choanalysis,  Boni  &  Liveright,  New  York, 

1920. 

The  Origin  and  Development  of  Psychoanalysis, 
American  Journal  of  Psychology,  xxi,  1910. 
Gordon,  S.  D.:  Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer,  Fleming  H. 

Revell  Company,  Chicago,  1904. 

Herman,  E.:  Creative  Prayer,  The  Pilgrim  Press, 

1921. 

,  Hocking,  W.  E.:  The  Meaning  of  God  in  Human 
Experience,  Yale  University  Press,  New  Haven, 
1912. 

Hoff  ding,  H.:  The  Philosophy  of  Religion,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1906. 

Holmes,  E.  E.:  Prayer  and  Action ,  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co.,  New  York,  1911. 

Holt,  E.  B.:  The  Freudian  Wish,  Henry  Holt  & 
Co.,  New  York,  1915. 

James,  Wm.:  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience, 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York,  1902. 
Jastrow,  Joseph:  Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology, 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  New  York,  1900. 
The  Subconscious,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
New  York,  1900. 

Jones,  R.  M.:  Studies  in  Mystical  Religion ,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1909. 
Spiritual  Energies  in  Daily  Life,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  New  York,  1922. 

Jowett,  J.  H.:  Yet  Another  Day,  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company,  Chicago,  1906. 

Jung,  C.  G.  :  The  Psychology  of  the  Unconscious , 
Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  New  York,  1916. 

King,  Irving:  The  Development  of  Religion ,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1910. 


A  SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


241 


Lawrence,  Brother:  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of 
God ,  American  Baptist  Publication  Society, 
Philadelphia,  1908. 

/-"Leuba,  J.  H.:  A  Psychological  Study  of  Religion , 
The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1912. 

Maclaren,  Alexander:  Pulpit  Prayers ,  W.  J.  Doran, 
Philadelphia,  1911. 

Mott,  J.  R.:  The  Secret  Prayer  Life ,  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
New  York. 

ps  Murray,  A.:  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer , 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  Chicago,  1885. 

Nyce,  A.  W.  and  Bunyea,  H.:  Grace  Before  Meals , 
John  C.  Winston,  Philadelphia,  1911. 

Paterson,  W.  P.:  The  Power  of  Prayer,  The  Mac¬ 
millan  Company,  New  York,  1920. 

Phelps,  A.:  Still  Hour ,  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard 
Company,  Boston,  1859. 

Pratt,  J.  B.:  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Belief, 
The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1907. 

The  Religious  Consciousness ,  The  Macmillan  Com¬ 
pany,  New  York,  1920. 

An  Empirical  Study  of  Prayer ,  American  Journal 
of  Religious  Psychology  and  Education,  iv, 
1910. 

Ransom,  W.  S.:  Studies  in  the  Psychology  of  Prayer, 
American  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology  and 
Education,  i,  1904. 

Segond,  J.:  La  Priere ,  Alcan,  Paris,  1911. 

Sidis,  Boris:  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  D. 
Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1889. 

Starbuck,  E.  D.:  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  Charles 
Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York,  1901. 

Stratton,  G.  M.:  The  Psychology  of  the  Religious 
Life ,  The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1912. 


242 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


Streeter,  B.  H.:  Concerning  Prayer ,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  London,  1916. 

Strong,  A.  L.:  The  Psychology  of  Prayer ,  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago,  1909. 

Torrey,  R.  A.:  How  To  Pray ,  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company,  Chicago,  1900. 

Trumbull,  H.:  Prayer:  Its  Nature  and  Scope,  Flem¬ 
ing  H.  Revell  Company,  Chicago,  1896. 

Illustrative  Answers  to  Prayer,  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Company,  Chicago,  1900. 

Woods,  J.  H.:  The  Practice  and  Science  of  Religion, 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York,  1906.  » 

Worcester,  E.:  Religion  and  Medicine,  Moffat,  Yard 
&  Co.,  New  York,  1908. 

Wrundt,  W.  M.:  Vdlkerpsychologie,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  New  York,  1916. 


INDEX  OF  TOPICS 


Attention 
Accessories  to,  52 
Function  of,  70 
Importance  of  in  prayers  of 
fellowship,  218 
Place  of  in  prayer,  52 
Place  of  in  suggestion,  31 

Automatism 
Nature  of,  57 
Religious  effect  of,  59 

Buddhism,  225 

Christian  Psychology,  26 

Christian  Science 

Absent  treatment  of,  140 
Compared  with  Emmanuel 
Movement,  115 
Theory  of,  114 

Coincidence 

In  answers  to  prayer,  154 
Observation  of,  154 
Relation  of  to  faith,  81 
Relation  of  to  telepathy,  140 

Commerce,  233 

Complex 

Discovery  of,  188 
Disposition  of,  19 1 
Nature  of,  182 

Conscience 

Troubled  state  of,  163 
Effect  of  in  psychoanalysis, 
191 

Conversion 

Contrasted  types  of,  102 
Delayed,  172 

Determined  by  childhood 
trends,  185 

Divine  element  in,  103 
Parallel  cases  of,  100 
Prayer  for,  93 
Saint  Paul’s,  98 
Subconscious  element  in,  95 
Time  factor  in,  98 
Tolstoy’s,  104 


Cooperative  Prayer 
Classification  of,  124 
Identified  forms  of,  125 
Unrecognized  forms  of,  137 

Description,  22 

Devotional  Prayer 
Nature  of,  19 
Psychology  of,  177,  201 

Divine  Forgiveness,  196 

Education  in  Prayer,  76 

Emmanuel  Movement 
Methods  of,  115 
Purpose  of,  114 

Emotions 

Aroused  in  conversion,  94 

Influence  of,  59 

Relation  of  to  temperament, 

121 

Stimulus  of  in  revivals,  99 
Value  of  in  religion,  232 

Explanation,  22 
Faith 

As  surrender,  40,  84 
As  will,  83 

Contrasted  with  memory,  31 
Factors  inducing  it,  76 
Included  in  suggestion,  30 
Independence  of,  33,  86 
Lack  of,  77 
Misplaced,  233 
Nature  of,  31 

Stimulative  effect  of,  32,  83, 
95 

Want  of,  173 
Fear,  60 

God 

Direct  impressions  of,  148 
Ethical  fellowship  with,  216 
Forgiveness  of,  196 
Immanence  of,  23-26,  220 
In  subconscious  response,  91 


243 


244 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER 


God 

Intelligence  of,  221 
Mystical  communion  with,2i7 
Relation  of  conception  of  to 
prayer,  90 

Relation  of  to  nature,  156 
Hypnotism 

Power  of  to  stimulate  memory, 
J43 

Relation  of  posture  to,  55 
Use  of  in  cure  of  cocainism, 
138 

Use  of  in  cure  of  moral  de¬ 
fects,  106 

Use  of  in  psychoanalysis,  190 
Hysteria,  182 

Imitation 

Definition  of,  44 
Kinds  of,  44 

Instincts 
Content  of,  226 
Definition  of,  225 
Indefiniteness  of,  226 
Partial  list  of,  225 
Primacy  of,  227 

Kneeling 
Effect  of,  56 
Practice  of,  19,  55 

Martyr  Spirit,  214 

Memory 
Definition  of,  31 
Effect  of  on  faith,  78,  79 
Intensified  by  suggestion,  47 
Intimacy  of,  79 
Results  of  suppression  of,  184 
Unconscious  form  of,  117 

Mental  Imagery,  12  i 

Mental  Pathology  of  Daily 
Life,  34 

Method  of  Analogy,  92 

Natural  Law 
Adjustment  to,  159 
Place  of  prayer  in,  24 
Prayers  for  suspension  of,  153 
Relation  of  God  to,  24,  156 
Religious  conflict  with,  156 


Oral  Praying,  61 


Petitional  Prayer 
Answer  to,  92 
Classification  of,  93 
Function  of,  157 
Nature  of,  19 

Philosophy,  22 
Prayer 

Classification  of,  19 
Definition  of,  18 
Psychological  phases  of,  20 

Prayer  Chain,  87 


rRAYER  FOR  THE  CURE  OF  DIS¬ 
EASE 

Illustrations  of,  no 
Psychology  of,  108 
Range  of,  in 

Prayer  for  Divine  Guidance 
Memory  aroused  by,  117* 
Poise  achieved  by,  116 
Voices  and  visions  induced  b] 
119 

Prayer  for  Ethical  Better¬ 
ment 

Example  of,  105 
Religious  factor  in,  107 
Prayer  of  Aspiration 
Illustrations  of,  207  L 
Psychology  of,  206 

Prayer  of  Communion 
Difficulties  of,  220 
Effects  of,  218 
Nature  of,  215 

Prayer  of  Confession 
Psychology  of,  193 
Value  of,  43,  169,  195 

Prayer  of  Consecration 
Illustrations  of,  209 
Prayer  of,  208 

Prayer  of  Praise,  196 

Prayer  of  Submission 
Prayer  of,  212 
Range  of,  213 

Prayer  of  Thanksgiving,  198 
Prayers  for  the  Dead,  i,  36 


w 


VI 


Prayer  for  Substance  and 
Action,  125 


INDEX  OF  TOPICS 


245 


Private  Prayer 
Value  of,  53 

Psychoanalysis 
Effect  of,  43,  169 
Freud’s  theory  and  practice 
of,  182 

Jung’s  conception  of,  187 
Method  of,  188 
Pathological  elements  of,  184, 
188 

Presence  of  in  prayer,  21 
Process  of,  179 

Psychosynthesis 

Activity  of  in  religion,  204 
Contrasted  with  psychoanaly¬ 
sis,  202 

Illustrations  of,  203 
Prayers  of,  205 

Public  Prayer 
Examples  of,  129 
Value  of,  54  4** 

Questionnaire 
Form  of,  237 
Value  of,  17 

Relaxation 

Lack  of  in  prayer,  117,  171 
Place  of  in  suggestion,  38,  40 

Religion 

Definition  of,  149,  224 
Instinctive  nature  of,  224,  228 
Primacy  of,  227 
Source  of  content  of,  226 
Universal  character  of,  225 

Rosary 

Catholic  use  of,  65 
Natural  history  of,  65 
Roman  Catholic  history  of,  64 
Value  of,  67,  170 

Science 

As  proposed  substitute  for 
prayer,  229 
Limitations  of,  234 
Method  of,  230 
Purpose  of,  229 
Scope  of,  22,  26 

Sex,  186 


Suggestion 
Definition  of,  28 
Elements  of,  28 
Examples  of,  29,  31,  45,  46, 
47,  48 

Forms  of,  41 
Law  of,  175 
Limitations  of,  48,  in 
Negative  form  of,  168 
Present  in  prayer,  21 
Use  of  in  cure  of  disease,  no 

Subconscious 
Content  of,  35 
Definition  of,  34 
Evidences  of,  34 
Relation  of  to  consciousness, 

36 

Results  of,  95,  97,  98,  1 19 
Sensitivity  of,  142,  143,  146 

Telepathy 
Definition  of,  137 
Relation  of  chance  to,  141 
Relation  of  hallucination  to, 
138 

Relation  of  subconscious  regis¬ 
tration  to,  143 

Relation  of  suggestion  to,  139 
Temperament 

Relation  of  to  religious  expe¬ 
rience,  121,  214 
Relation  of  to  unanswered 
prayer,  166 

Unanswered  Prayer 
Effect  of  on  faith,  79 
Sources  of,  16 1 

Will 

Act  of  in  prayer,  68 
As  revealed  in  attention,  70 
Effort  of,  39,  53 
Presence  of  in  prayer,  68 
Surrender  of,  96 

Worship 

Definition  of,  198 
Prayer  of,  197 


Yoga  Cult,  55 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Allen,  Robert,  129 
Aristotle,  18 1 
Arnold,  Matthew,  94 

Bacon,  Francis,  82 
Baldwin,  J.  N.,  28,  45 
Beck,  F.  O.,  55,  158 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  130,  131, 
193,  197 

Biederwolf,  W.  G.,  168 
Biven,  George  D.,  202 
Book,  W.  F.,  39 
Bowne,  B.  T.,  71,  80 
Breuer,  Joseph,  182 
Brill,  A.  A.,  189 
Brother  Lawrence,  69,  193,  218 
Buckham,  J.  W.,  215 
Buddha,  86,  100,  101,  102,  103, 
226 

Bunyea,  H.,  200 
Bushnell,  Horace,  186 
Butcher,  S.  H.,  18 1 

Cabot,  Richard  C.,  114 
Carpenter,  W.  B.,  97,  98,  119 
Christ,  24,  26,  53,  77,  83,  89,  95, 
103,  127,  134,  168,  209-212, 
217 

Clark,  Charles  S.,  107 

Coe,  G.  A.,  48,  121,  166,  167,  228 

Confucius,  86 

Coombs,  J.  V.,  107,  hi,  1 14,  140 

Coover,  J.  E.,  141 

Couden,  Henry  N.,  13 1,  132 

Creek,  Jennie,  117 

Curtis,  H.  S.,  144 

Curtis,  O.  A.,  96 

Cutten,  G.  B.,  107 

Davenport,  F.  M.,  135 
Dessoir,  Max,  143 
Dionysius,  218 
Dominican  Father,  67 
Donaldson,  H.  H.,  144 

Ellis,  Havelock,  174 


Finney,  C.  G.,  164 
Fosdick,  H.  E.,  222 
Freud,  Sigmund,  182,  183,  185, 
188 

Goddard,  H.  H.,  109 
Gordon,  S.  D.,  16 1 

Hamilton,  Sir  W.  Rowan,  97 
Handford,  Thomas  W.,  13 1,  193, 
198 

Harlow,  W.  E.,  107 
Hensen,  F.  C.,  143 
Hoff  ding,  H.,  157 
Holmes,  E.  E.,  136,  196 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  153 
James,  Wm.,  29,  62,  71,  84,  224 
Jastrow,  Joseph,  37,  44,  145,  154 
Jesus.  See  Christ 
Jones,  Rufus  M.,  215 
Jowett,  J.  H.,  199,  208 
Jung,  Carl  G.,  182,  187 

King,  H.  C.,  71 

Lanphier,  J.  C.,  134 
Lehmann,  A.,  143 
Lessing,  198 
Lindley,  E.  H.,  58 
Luther,  Martin,  52,  94,  136 

Maclaren,  Alexander,  130 
McComb,  S.,  1 14,  1 15 
McCormick,  C.  W.,  158 
McDougall,  W.,  29 
McIntyre,  Robert,  165 
Mohammed,  48 
Morris,  J.  G.,  52 
Mott,  John  R.,  53 
Muller,  F.  Max,  55 
Muller,  George,  126 
Mtinsterberg,  Hugo,  28,  75,  138 
Murray,  A.,  77,  83,  85 
Myers,  F.  W.  H.,  88 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


247 


Nabonidus,  207 
Nachet,  M.,  97 
Neal,  E.  Virgil,  107 
Neriglissar,  207 
Noble,  E.,  46 
Nyce,  A.  W.,  200 

Oldenberg,  H.,  10 1 

Parish,  E.,  12 1 
Phelps,  A.,  60,  77,  163,  170 
Pillsbury,  W.  B.,  57 
Pope,  Howard  W.,  117 
Pratt,  J.  B.,  17,  1 17,  215 

Quayle,  W.  A.,  159 

Rauschenbusch,  Walter,  132 
Ribot,  T.,  61,  62 
Robertson,  P.  W.,  88 
Rogers,  R.  W.,  208 

Saint  Augustine,  94,  136,  16 1, 
219 

Saint  Dominic,  64,  65 
Saint  Paul,  94,  98,  99,  160,  170, 
198 

Saint  Peter,  no 


Saint  Teresa,  61 
Shakespeare,  Wm.,  180 
Sidis,  Boris,  29,  33,  175 
Small,  M.  H.,  47 
Socrates,  120,  12 1,  207 
Starbuck,  E.  D.,  37,  84,  93,  94, 
229 

Stephen,  98 

Strong,  A.  L.,  108,  164,  205 
Sunday,  W.  A.,  116 

Tennyson,  Alfred,  180 
Tolstoy,  104 

Torrey,  R.  A.,  77,  108,  168,  198 
Tridon,  Andre,  180 
Trumbull,  H.  C.,  77,  154 
Tylor,  E.  B.,  65 

Unbekannt,  88 

Wenham,  F.  H.,  97 
Woods,  J.  H.,  101,  102 
Worcester,  E.,  82,  114 
Wordsworth,  W.,  180 
Wundt,  W.,  144 

Zangwill,  I.,  66 
Zeller,  E.,  120 


* 


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Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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025  2767 


DATE  DUE 


